The Free State High Court in Bloemfontein has ordered Eskom to pay damages to a child who was electrocuted by a cable lying on the ground in February 2020. The child, identified as SBM, was electrocuted after stepping on an electric cable on Rorichshoop farm near Koffiefontein. The court found that Eskom failed to provide evidence to rebut a legal presumption that it was negligent.
The high court overturned an earlier ruling that had cleared Eskom of responsibility. The earlier court had found that Eskom's actions could be explained by its belief that it was not responsible for the infrastructure. However, the appeal court reached a different conclusion after considering Eskom's failure to present evidence. The court criticized Eskom's conduct after the incident, including its attempts to dissuade the child's grandmother from taking the utility to court.
The court found that Eskom's counsel had repeatedly indicated during the trial that the powerline shown in photographs was an Eskom line. Despite undertaking to call an employee to testify about the powerline, Eskom closed its case without presenting the promised evidence. Judge Joseph Mhlambi, who presided over the appeal, said Eskom "failed to present evidence" despite its counsel's undertaking that an employee would testify that the line shown in photographs was located on municipal land.
The judgment found that Eskom's failure to produce evidence was critical because section 25 of the Electricity Regulation Act provides that injury caused by electricity generated, transmitted or distributed by a licensee is deemed to have been caused by the licensee's negligence unless there is credible evidence to the contrary. Eskom admitted that it was a licensee under the act. The child's grandmother testified that she had seen low-hanging powerlines in the area and that a cable remained on the ground for more than a year.
The court also considered what happened after the incident. A man and woman from Eskom visited the grandmother at her home and told her not to take Eskom to court, but to retain her own lawyer. Two Eskom men later visited the grandmother and the child at hospital and repeated the advice that she should not take Eskom to court but should see a lawyer. When the grandmother later returned to the area, the poles and powerline were no longer there.
The appeal court found that, based on the statements made by Eskom's counsel and the evidence before it, "the most plausible inference to be drawn from the accepted facts is that the defendant was the applicable licensee". The court ordered that Eskom be liable for the damages proven or agreed upon. The appeal therefore succeeded, with Eskom ordered to pay the plaintiff's costs, including counsel's fees and the costs of the applications for leave to appeal.
The child's electrocution occurred on February 9, 2020, when he stepped on an electric cable lying on the ground. His feet and arm were burnt. The court found that the plaintiff succeeded 100% on the merits, with costs. The judgment set aside the earlier order of absolution from the instance.
Key points
- The Free State High Court in Bloemfontein has ordered Eskom to pay damages to a child who was electrocuted by a cable lying on the ground in February 2020.
- Eskom failed to provide evidence to rebut a legal presumption that it was negligent in the electrocution incident.
- The court found that Eskom's failure to produce evidence was critical in determining its liability for the damages.
