Dubula v Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality (2695/2017)
Dubula v Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality (2695/2017) [2021] ZAECPEHC 34 (27 May 2021)
The court found that while the statutory presumption of negligence applied, the defendant municipality presented credible evidence that the CDU was vandalised and that the direct cause of harm was the insertion of a rod by another child. The municipality had constructed the CDU to be self-contained, affixed warning signs, and relied on community reporting due to the impracticality of regular inspections for thousands of units. The court balanced the foreseeability and gravity of risk against the utility of the municipality's actions and the burden of eliminating risk, concluding that the defe…
Source excerpt
- Municipal Liability
- Negligence
- Electricity Distribution
- Statutory Presumption
- Public Safety
- Vandalism