Desperate dad petitioned justice minister to withdraw minor theft case against mentally ill son

A desperate Durban father petitioned justice minister Ronald Lamola in a bid to get his mentally ill son released from Westville prison where he spent 40 days for failing to pay a R309 Spur restaurant bill.

Retired church minister Peter Holness accused the state of acting unconstitutionally by opposing bail and failing to send  his son Roger, 38, who was in urgent need of psychiatric care, to a specialist facility for observation. 

The former computer architect — who has a schizoaffective mood disorder, a combination of schizophrenia and mood disorder, such as depression or bipolar disorder  —  was arrested for theft in Pinetown on August 22 after he failed to pay his bill at a local Spur restaurant while in a psychotic state. His father has settled the bill.

Holness snr told the Sunday Times the incarceration of Roger, who has suffered from mental illness for more than 20 years, brought into focus the flaws in the “judicial handling of mental illness, which needs urgent and drastic revision”.

The matter has also, according to the South African Mental Health Alliance (Samha), highlighted the shortage of forensic observation beds for detainees and convicted prisoners who have mental health disorders.

On Wednesday, after Peter had spent more than a month of pleading for his son’s release, the state withdrew the charge against Roger. 

There are limited options in what the justice department can do for a specific patient … because they will also be blamed if they release a person back to the community and the person re-offends

—  Dr Mvuyiso Talatala, psychiatrist and co-chair of the SA Mental Health Alliance

Advocate Elaine Zungu, KwaZulu-Natal’s director of public prosecutions (DPP), confirmed the charge was withdrawn. 

“The matter was dealt with in accordance with the Criminal Procedure Act. [It] was first adjourned to verify the details of the accused and for him to be assessed by a district surgeon. On this appearance, the accused elected to represent himself. 

“On his second appearance, he was sent to the district surgeon for psychiatric assessment, where it was confirmed he has schizoaffective disorder and [is] bipolar. The state then began preparing documentation for him to undergo mental assessment.

“He was allocated a representative from Legal Aid and it then became known to the court that the father had settled the bill, thus the matter was subsequently withdrawn,” said Zungu.

During his time in prison, Roger was remanded in custody twice, despite the waiter who reported him to police withdrawing the charge and his psychiatrist stating in a letter to the magistrate that he “is not fit to attend court”. 

• 38: The number of days Roger Holness was incarcerated

• R309: The amount of the unpaid restaurant bill

• 17: The age at which Roger Holness was diagnosed with a schizoaffective mood disorder

—  IN NUMBERS

Aside from pleading his son's case to Zungu, Peter petitioned Lamola to intervene: “The Mental Health Act is not adequately protecting those who have serious mental health issues. The judicial handling of people who have mental illnesses must be urgently reviewed and changed. Attitudes and actions must change.

“Those who have serious mental illnesses should be sent to hospital, not jail. They should be treated with compassion and understanding. Our society, our judicial system and our correctional facilities need to be sensitised to those who have mental illnesses.”

The justice department referred the Sunday Times to correctional services for comment, which did not respond.

Peter  said his son was “surprisingly OK, angry but philosophical” after his release. Roger did not want to speak to the Sunday Times about his experience in jail. 

Dr Mvuyiso Talatala, psychiatrist and co-chair of Samha, said there were many awaiting trial prisoners with mental illnesses in SA.

“The problem is that if one is arrested for an alleged crime and there is a suspicion that he has a mental illness that could account for his behaviour or make him not able to follow trial proceedings, the person should be transferred to a forensic psychiatric unit for observation.

“The court orders such a transfer. However, there is a shortage of forensic observation beds in the whole country.”

Cassey Chambers, operations director at the South African Depression & Anxiety Group (Sadag), said the  case was an “injustice of mental-health human rights”.

“It’s like we are punishing patients for having a mental health issue. We would never do this to anyone who had any other chronic illness.”