Limpopo - The Limpopo provincial government must pay up for two brothers, orphaned when their parents died in a car accident on a poorly maintained road in the province.
The Limpopo Roads and Transport Department did minor repairs on the R518 Mokopane/Zebediela Road from time to time, but allowed it to deteriorate over the years.
The boys, aged 13 and 14, were on their way to their Christmas holiday with their parents when the accident occurred on December 13, 2008.
They are not being identified as they are still minors.
Their guardians are claiming nearly R5 million on their behalf for maintenance due to the fact that they have lost their parents.
In 2012, the High Court in Pretoria could not make a finding on who was negligent - the mother who was driving, or the Transport MEC for not maintaining the road.
The court found that the mother was probably driving faster than was acceptable under the circumstances.
But the guardians of the children appealed against this ruling.
Judge Dawie Fourie on Thursday ruled the MEC 100 percent liable for the damages suffered by the children.
He found there was no proof that the mother had been driving too fast, given the uneven road surface.
It has also emerged that a farmer who lived near the accident scene, had for years complained about the shoddy state of the road surface.
He wrote numerous letters to the authorities complaining about the road.
After reading about the trial in the media, the farmer came forward and testified on behalf of the children.
The boys’ claim is based on the Roads Department in Limpopo having an obligation to ensure that roads in this province are safe for use, but that it failed in its duty.
The 14-year-old testified they had a rest stop in Mokopane (Potgietersrus) after which his mother took over the driving.
He was just settling in for a nap in the back of the car when he felt a hard bump.
“I felt the car rattling. The next moment everything went black around me.”
Their vehicle veered into the opposite lane and collided with an oncoming vehicle.
The parents were killed and the children suffered serious head injuries.
The accident occurred 24km outside Mokopane as the family reached the Rooisloot Bridge.
There was a 15cm rut in the road where the surface met the bridge.
This caused vehicles driving on to the bridge to become airborne causing some drivers to lose control.
The surface was repaired a few days after this fatal accident.
The farmer who lived 3km from the bridge told the court the road started deteriorating in 2006.
He said he sent numerous letters to the road agency regarding the problem.
He included the signatures of other petitioners, but nothing was done.
Temporary repairs were done, but hardly made a difference, he said.
Road agency witnesses admitted to a lot of potholes in the area and that part of the road “sinks”.
Minor repair work was done over the years, but the larger problem was not addressed, the officials conceded.
Judge Fourie found that the longstanding problem was not addressed and that the department had failed in its duty to the public. The amount of damages will be decided later.
Pretoria News