THE City of Harare has paid ZWL$2 500 as compensation to a resident who was injured owing to the local authority’s negligence after some dilapidated metal sheets fell on him at Mbare Musika bus terminus.
The City of Harare recently deposited ZWL$2 500 into the bank account of Obvious Katambarare, a 24 year-old man, who was injured on 15 August 2017 as he was waiting for a bus at Mbare Musika bus terminus when some derelict metal shelters that had been erected to provide shade for commuters, collapsed and landed on him.
Katambarare was hit on the face, head and neck by some loose metal bars which knocked him unconscious and was hospitalised at Harare Central Hospital, where he was treated for back injuries and a broken jaw and had metal wires inserted in his mouth for support after he lost some teeth.
After the mishap, Katambarare engaged Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, whose lawyer Fiona Iliff sued City of Harare for negligence after faulting the local authority for failing to maintain the bus shelters erected at Mbare Musika bus terminus.
In court, Iliff argued that City of Harare was liable for the injuries sustained by Katambarare since it is the municipal authority’s responsibility to maintain the bus terminus in terms of the Urban Councils Act.
Iliff also argued that City of Harare failed to discharge its duty of care to Katambarare and other members of the public by wrongfully, negligently and unreasonably failing to take reasonable precautions to maintain the shelters, thereby causing a hazard to the Harare resident and other members of the public.
Source: Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights
