High Court orders Defence Ministry to pay US$116k over fatal military vehicle crash

HARARE – The High Court of Zimbabwe has ordered the Minister of Defence and War Veterans Affairs and the Air Force of Zimbabwe to pay US$116,772.48 in damages to a widow following a fatal motor vehicle accident involving a military vehicle.

The ruling, delivered by Justice Never Katiyo last week, concluded a civil trial arising from the death of Mudavanhu Manjengwa, who died from injuries sustained in an accident on December 21, 2019.

The lawsuit was initiated by the deceased’s widow, Lucia Manjengwa, who sought damages for loss of support. The accident was caused by the negligent driving of Matthew Mushinga, an employee of the Air Force who was operating a service vehicle at the time.

The central legal debate focused on whether the government was liable for Mushinga’s actions. The defendants argued that Mushinga was on a “frolic of his own,” acting without authority, outside working hours, and without a valid military driver’s license.

But Justice Katiyo rejected the defense’s attempt to distance the state from the accident.

The court found that the Ministry had created a foreseeable risk by entrusting a fleet of vehicles to an unlicensed officer, failing to implement effective control mechanisms, such as logbooks or authorization forms and failing to supervise or prevent the unauthorized use of the vehicle.

The court applied the “creation of risk” doctrine, ruling that there was a sufficiently close link between the employment and the wrongful conduct. Consequently, the Minister and the Air Force were found 95% liable for the damages, while Mushinga was held 5% liable.

“This court aligns itself with the reasoning in Minister of Police v Rabie 1986 (1) SA 117 (A), which established that even where an employee acts partly for personal purposes, the employer may still be liable if there is a sufficiently close link between the wrongful conduct and the risk created by the employment.

“The 1st and 2nd defendants, Minister of Defence and Air Marshall Air Force of Zimbabwe respectively, by issuing a service vehicle and placing it under the control of an unlicensed officer, created a foreseeable risk to the public.

“The accident that occurred was not too remote from that risk. Their omission to supervise, restrict or prevent the 3rd defendant from driving constitutes negligence independent of vicarious liability,” the judge ruled.

In determining the award, the court noted that the deceased was 44 years old at the time of his death and earned a monthly salary equivalent to USD 931.20. Based on a remaining earning capacity of 11 years and established legal precedents, the court calculated the final award.

Justice Katiyo ordered payment of US$116,772.48 (or the Zimbabwean dollar equivalent at the prevailing interbank rate) together with interest at the prescribed rate from the date the summons was issued.

The defendants are required to cover the plaintiff’s legal costs.

The plaintiff was represented by the Legal Resources Foundation, while the Civil Division of the Attorney General appeared for the first and second defendants.