Who’s the worse lawbreaker?

It was no joke when Durban woman Kayla Michelle Holton appeared in the Durban magistrate’s court on a drunk driving charge on April Fools’ Day.

Clutching a peach Guess bag and nervously sipping a juice drink outside the court, Holton’s demeanour was in stark contrast to her emotional outbursts during a confrontation with law enforcement officers that was filmed at the Durban North police station at the weekend and posted online.

She alternated between sobbing, pleading for help over her “one bad choice” and shouting at the officers and health workers taking a blood sample for alcohol testing.

Holton was among 67 motorists arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence in Umhlanga and Durban North. She was one of a handful whose videoed arrests were posted on the KwaZulu-Natal department of transport’s social media platforms as part of its #NenzaniLaEzweni (What#NenzaniLaEzweni (What are you doing to your country?) campaign.

Among those who made their first appearances in court this week were:

• a woman in red who cried uncontrollably and pleaded her innocence. She insisted she had drunk nothing but tea and had just left the gym, where she was “building strength”. She said she drank herbal tea to support mental wellbeing;
• a motorist who was so terrified that he allegedly wet himself and allegedly offered a bribe of up to R1,200 while being streamed live to Facebook;
• a zigzagging motorist who, after being arrested, told officers he was a Kaizer Chiefs superfan but could not remember names of players because he had just returned from Italy, where he had lived for five years. Thirty minutes later he said he was the No 1 Orlando Pirates supporter and demanded to be treated with respect;
• a Polo driver who had stopped, as required, at a stop sign, but then remained stationary. Asked why, he said he was waiting for the robot to turn green; and
• a motorist who insisted on being detained in a holding cell with a sea view along Umhlanga Beach.

While many social media users lapped up the footage, saying it was better than reality TV and a deterrent, others were outraged, claiming the department had gone too far in humiliating the accused by naming and shaming them during their most vulnerable moments.

Legal experts say the videos and photos of the accused violate the Criminal Procedure Act and the Police Act and breach their constitutional rights to dignity, privacy and a fair trial.

A lawyer acting for Holton told the Sunday Times she did not want to comment.

Social media law expert Verlie Oosthuizen condemned the department of transport, saying its campaign had caused a “huge amount of damage to people and their reputations and is completely unlawful”.

“It is an invasion of privacy and dignity. It also compromises their right to a fair trial. It is utterly unacceptable for law enforcement personnel to break the law in this manner. This is a government department acting outside the realms of the law and taking matters into their own hands without authorisation.”

University of KwaZulu-Natal law expert Sandhya Maharaj said once a person was a suspect or in custody, certain protections automatically applied to protect the integrity of criminal investigations and to safeguard the rights of the accused.

It is an invasion of privacy and dignity. It also compromises their right to a fair trial. It is utterly unacceptable

—  Verlie Oosthuizen

“Once someone becomes a suspect, a ban on photographs is triggered automatically. Even if the department blurs faces, they may still leave enough contextual detail, such as clothing, the vehicle, or the location, to make a person indirectly identifiable, which still constitutes a breach of the law.

“The tone of some of these posts, particularly those describing the antics or excuses of arrested individuals, can easily cross the line into public humiliation. When this conduct comes from an organ of state, the power imbalance makes such shaming particularly concerning. It begins to resemble a form of extrajudicial punishment — something imposed publicly before any court has determined guilt.”

Maharaj said the social media exposure also flew in the face of the Protection of Personal Information Act.

Ndabezinhle Sibiya, spokesperson for the provincial department of transport, defended the #NenzaniLaEzweni campaign, which was launched in August.

“We celebrate the fact we have managed to reduce fatalities, an 18% reduction for the first time in two decades. There has been a decrease in road accident patients being admitted to trauma wards.

“Many in the community applaud the firmness we are displaying, and we will continue to name those who are reckless. Our no-nonsense approach against those with no sense of responsibility is appreciated by many, especially widows, orphans and people living with disabilities.”