The Durban High Court has ordered the eThekwini municipality to pay full damages to Sindisiwe Novuka, a civilian who suffered an eye injury after being caught in cross-fire from the municipality’s security guards on February 18, 2020.

The incident occurred in the Durban CBD on Anton Lembede Street. The municipality’s two security guards used a paintball rifle to disperse a crowd, stating they were responding to a complaint about a group of robbers, known as Tanzanians, targeting members of the public.

The guards claimed that as they attempted to intervene, one of the alleged robbers threw a bottle of Savannah towards them, prompting them to open fire. 

They confirmed that the bottle did not hit any of them and that they did not observe the Tanzanians carrying any weapons. However, they maintained that the act of throwing the bottle constituted a “declaration of war.”

Novuka, who was returning from work at the time, was shot in the eye while the security guards were dispersing the crowd.

Novuka sustained an eye injury while collecting her laundry at St George’s Arcade, having been caught in the crossfire. Steven Masikhane, also known as Senzo, who was talking to a friend on the pavement when the incident occurred, informed the City’s security guard that a civilian had been injured.

After being alerted, the security guards transported Novuka to Addington Hospital in a municipal vehicle. They waited for her and then drove her home. During the journey, they purchased her a Nando’s meal and provided her with R130 for transport to McCord’s Provincial Eye Hospital, where Dr. Gama from Addington had referred her.

“I went to McCord’s hospital, and I was hospitalised from February 19 to 26. I was bleeding in my eye, and I went back on March 3, 2020, and I was hospitalised again and discharged on March 12,” she stated. 

Novuka testified that she underwent surgery on April 29 and was discharged on May 11. She confirmed being in contact with one of the security guards, Khanyile, to update him on her condition.

The City, however, denied liability for Novuka’s claim during court proceedings. They argued that the security guards were not negligent, as they were dealing with a violent crowd at the time.

According to Ayanda Nzama, one of the security guards present, neither he nor his colleague saw Novuka when they dispersed the group of Tanzanians. He did, however, confirm that his colleagues, Khanyile and Khanyase, transported Novuka to Addington Hospital.

Acting Judge D. Ramdhani said Novuka was able to prove that the security guards were negligent, “I am satisfied and persuaded that the plaintiff has proven negligence and wrongfulness on the part of the defendant.”

“Both the defendants (eThekwini) security guards ought to have foreseen the danger in discharging and firing the paintball projectiles at the Tanzanians, and in this regard it was reasonably foreseeable that there would be pedestrians who would have been standing and/or walking in either an easterly or westerly direction, behind the Tanzanians,” the acting Judge said. 

nomonde.zondi@inl.co.za

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