YACOOB J
On these facts, this Court found three bases for the conclusion that the delict
(simultaneous omission and commission) bore a sufficient connection to the
employment of the policemen:
a. The policemen and their employer all carried a statutory and
constitutional duty to prevent crime and protect the members of the
public.11
b. The police there had offered to assist Ms K and she had accepted their
offer and by doing so displayed her trust in the policemen in uniform, in
circumstances where it was reasonable for Ms K to do so.12
c. There had been a simultaneous commission and omission: the police had
committed the brutal rape; and their simultaneous omission was that
they failed ―while on duty to protect her from harm‖ which, they had a
general and a special duty to do.13
[164] It will have been noted that the fact that the policemen were on duty at the time
of the simultaneous commission and omission was a significant factor in the
evaluation in K. I accept without qualification that whether the policemen are on or
off duty is not a decisive factor. This is because there may be circumstances in which
the connection is sufficiently strong even though policemen are not on duty. A victim
of the wrongful conduct of an off-duty police officer will necessarily have to go a
longer way to establish the connection. I would say that the question of whether the
11
Id at para 51.
12
Id at paras 51 and 52.
13
Id at para 53.
67
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