Northern Cape roads department ordered to pay damages after late soldier was left paralysed in pothole crash
Potholes The Northern Cape High Court has ruled that the provincial Department of Roads and Public Works is largely responsible for a devastating 2012 road accident that left a SANDF member paralysed.
Image: Boxer Ngwenya/Independent Newspapers
The Northern Cape High Court has ruled that the provincial Department of Roads and Public Works is largely responsible for a devastating 2012 road accident that left a South African National Defence Force (SANDF) member permanently paralysed.
The court found that the Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Roads and Public Works failed to properly maintain the R31 road between Koopmansfontein and Danielskuil and failed to warn motorists of a dangerous road defect.
The court ordered the MEC to pay 80% of the damages suffered by the late Motlatsi Jacob Mofoka, whose estate is now represented by his widow, Anna Mofoka.
Mofoka was travelling in a military light delivery vehicle on official duty from Postmasburg to Kimberley on 7 February 2012 when the accident occurred. Evidence before the court showed that the vehicle struck a pothole which caused the driver to lose control. The vehicle rolled, leaving Mofoka a quadriplegic. He later died before the case was finalised.
Judge Lawrence Lever accepted the evidence of an independent police officer and expert witnesses that tyre marks began at the damaged section of road, confirming that the loss of control occurred after the vehicle hit the defect. The court rejected the MEC’s argument that the driver had lost control before encountering the damaged road surface.
The court found that the provincial roads authority owed a clear duty of care to motorists using the R31, a busy provincial route heavily used by trucks. Despite being aware of the road’s deteriorating condition—exacerbated by heavy traffic, rainfall, and wetland terrain—the department failed to repair the hazard or erect warning signs.
“The main cause of the accident was clearly the failure to maintain the road appropriately and, more particularly, the failure to warn road users of the particular road hazard,” said Judge Lever.
While the court placed the bulk of the blame on the roads department, it also found that Mofoka contributed to the accident. Evidence showed that he increased his speed to approximately 110 km/h despite knowing the road was in poor condition.
As a result, the court apportioned liability, holding the MEC responsible for 80% of the damages and attributing 20% contributory negligence to the deceased.
The MEC was also ordered to pay 80% of Mafoka's legal costs, taxed on a higher scale.
sinenhlanhla.masilela@iol.co.za
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