Pretoria - Cash-strapped Matlosana Municipality in Klerksdorp is facing a R2 million damages claim after a plumber who had to assist in fixing a broken pipe was literally buried alive under sand. The incident happened after the wall of a trench he was working in caved in.
Tshehla Famen Khabu, who lost his life in 2013, was the only breadwinner of his family. His wife and three children claimed loss of support against the municipality, the plumbing company which employed Khabu, as well as against the company which supplied the equipment with which the excavation was made.
However, Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, Judge Nicolene Janse van Nieuwenhuizen found the municipality to be vicariously liable for 100% of the damages. This is because the municipality was in charge of the entire operation that day and only hired the services of the plumbing contractor.
The municipality also had an expert on site at the time who had to make sure that all went well and that safety measures were in place.
GS Poultry chicken abattoir operated adjacent to the site. During its operations, GS Poultry caused chicken waste to wash into the sewerage drainage system, which led to a constant problem of blocked drain pipes.
The municipality is responsible for the proper functioning of the sewerage system in this area.
It engaged the services of GTC Plumbing, Khabu’s employer, to do the plumbing work on site.
During the execution of the construction work, Khabu was in the excavation site when one of the walls caved in and buried him. One of the workers testified that he first got into the bucket of the excavator’s arm and was lowered into the trench to measure the pipe. His boss and the municipal officials who were in charge of safety stood at the edge of the excavation area, but neither of them stopped him from entering the trench.
After he got out, Khabu was lowered into the trench and he tried to clear the mud around the pipe itself. But before he could even expose the pipe, the soil caved in on him and he was buried.
Desperate steps were taken to save his life, but were in vain.
The court was told Khabu was in a hurry to enter the trench and get the work done, as he was a huge Orlando Pirates soccer fan and there was a game on that afternoon. The court, however, found that he should not have been allowed to be lowered into the trench in the first place as it was unsafe.
It was said that the municipality official’s responsibilities on the day was to make sure that the site was safe and that nobody got injured.
The official allowed two people to enter the trench while it was clearly not safe, the judge said.The court heard evidence that the soil was wet and the excavation looked unstable.
The widow’s lawyer, JP Rudd, said that once they had received all the reports regarding the loss the widow had suffered, they would approach the municipality for a possible settlement.
Pretoria News