ZETDC pays for negligence. . . bereaved mom wins $15 000 damages suit In a statement, ZETDC said the national grid was generally depressed in terms of generation, largely due to reduced availability of water at Kariba where the utility had been restricted to generate a daily average of 300 megawatts instead of the maximum capacity of 1 050 megawatts.
ZETDC

ZETDC

Daniel Nemukuyu Senior Court Reporter
The High Court has held the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) liable for the death of an eight-year-old boy who fell on naked power cables in Harare in 2012 before ordering the firm to pay $15 000 in damages.

ZETDC will now pay the damages to the late boy’s mother, Ms Constance Sinachinga, as compensation for the psychological trauma and emotional shock occasioned by the company’s gross negligence at No. 284 Herbert Chitepo Av- enue.

The successful lawsuit serves as an eye- opener to some residents that ZETDC can successfully be sued for deaths occasioned by the company’s negligence.

Justice Jester Charewa granted the default judgment after the power company failed to defend its case. “It is ordered that the judgment be and is hereby entered for the applicant in the sum of US$15 000 together with interest at the prescribed rate from the date of summons to date of final and full payment,” ruled Justice Charewa.

“Respondent shall pay costs of the suit.” Ms Belinda Chinowawa of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Right represented Ms Sinachinga.

The now late Takudzwa Nyandoro was a victim of ZETDC cables left unsecured by the power firm’s employees after maintenance work. The incident occurred on March 29, 2012 when the unsuspecting boy was playing outside the house with his friends.

The children were picking guavas from a tree in the yard. “While doing so, Takudzwa lost grip, fell into a pit which had been dug by the respondent’s employees and was immediately electrocuted,” reads Ms Sinachinga’s affidavit.

She told the court that her son’s death affected her health. “Since Takudzwa died, I have become hypertensive and I also experience general loss of appetite in addition to sleepless nights,” she said. “The trauma I have suffered is unceasing and I constantly think about my son and what he would have become had it not been for the actions of the respondent’s em- ployees.

“I have had to seek the services of a clinical psychologist and have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, a condition that will require future psychological and medical interventions for me to cope.” Ms Sinachinga said ZETDC could have at least placed warning signs near the pit.

“The death of Takudzwa was a direct result of the negligence of the respondent’s functionaries, who created a dangerous situation by leaving live wires exposed and not placing warning signs or cordoning off the area in order to alert the public to the danger that was present,” reads the affidavit.

The live wires in question, according to Ms Sinachinga, were exposed for a period stretching from January to March 2012.

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