Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2005. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Sunday Times (Johannesburg) - June 5, 2005
Bongani Mthethwa
This week the Department of Correctional Services reached an out-of-court settlement with the 30-year-old Chatsworth man who became infected with the virus while being held in Westville Prison.
Manelisi Wolela, a spokesman for Correctional Services, confirmed on Friday that an out-of-court settlement had been reached. But he would not disclose details of the settlement as it was agreed that none of the parties would reveal its contents.
The department had opposed the lawsuit on the grounds that the man, who cannot be named, had not complained to prison authorities immediately after the incident.
The man said in court papers he contracted HIV after he was assaulted and sodomised by more than one prisoner during his stint in prison.
He had been arrested on November 24 1998 on a theft charge. He was granted R500 bail but was unable to pay it and was taken to the Westville Prison.
The man alleged he was detained with 20 other prisoners and that between November 25 and 27 1998 he was assaulted and sodomised by inmates.
He contended that the sole cause of him contracting HIV/Aids was negligence by prison warders, who failed to ensure he was not assaulted and sodomised.
Professor John Mubangizi, the deputy dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, said the out-of-court settlement should not be interpreted as an admission of guilt.
Professor Karthy Govender, a commissioner on the South African Human Rights Commission, said the important point was that an out-of-court settlement did not become a binding precedent.
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