The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) has overturned a High Court ruling that awarded R1 million in damages to a Gauteng man for alleged unlawful detention, finding that his claim had legally expired and was incorrectly decided.

The case centred on Nkosana Thomas Leso, who was serving a lengthy prison sentence imposed in 2002 for serious offences including attempted murder and robbery with aggravating circumstances. He was released on parole in 2013 under strict conditions, including electronic GPS monitoring.

In June 2014, Leso reported a lost tracking device, prompting authorities to issue a warrant for his arrest. He was taken into custody at Baviaanspoort Correctional Centre. While his initial arrest was lawful, he was not brought before a court within the required 48-hour period, a delay later found to be procedurally unlawful in earlier High Court proceedings.

That earlier ruling in 2017 declared part of his detention unlawful. Leso later pursued a civil damages claim, and the High Court relied on the doctrine of issue estoppel, treating the state as bound by that finding. It then awarded him R1 million in compensation.

However, the SCA rejected that approach. Writing for the court, Judge Anna Maleshane Kgoele held that unlawfulness alone does not automatically establish liability in delict. The court found that essential elements such as causation, full assessment of wrongfulness, and the exact period of unlawful detention had not been properly determined.

Crucially, the SCA also found that the claim had prescribed under the Prescription Act. Any actionable period of unlawful detention had expired by the time the civil claim was pursued, and parts of his detention were also deemed lawful following his parole revocation in October 2014.

The court concluded that sending the matter back for a full trial would serve no practical purpose and dismissed the claim entirely.