Former murder accused Fred van der Vyver on Monday won his civil claim against the police ministry for malicious prosecution, Eye Witness News has reported.
Judge Anton Veldhuizen ordered the state to pay all costs for the application, including those incurred for experts and advocates.
Van der Vyver was arrested in 2005 after his girlfriend, Inge Lotz, was found murdered in her Stellenbosch flat.
According to the report, there were emotional scenes in courtroom 17 at the Cape Town High Court as the Van der Vyver family clapped and choked back tears as judgment was handed down.
Van der Vyver’s advocate, Dup de Bruyn, with tears welling in his eyes, said it had been a six-year “war”.
Van der Vyver was claiming R46-million. A new trial to decide how much money he should get was likely to start in 2012.
The state would already have to pay millions of rand for the cost of Van der Vyver’s experts and advocates. — Sapa