Prasa must ensure passenger safety‚ says robbery victim

The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) was under statutory and constitutional duty to put reasonable measures in place to ensure the safety of rail commuters‚ the Constitutional Court heard on Thursday.

This submission was made by counsel for Irvine Mashongwa‚ a commuter who was thrown out of a moving train by three robbers in Pretoria on New Year’s Day in 2011. He lost his leg as a result.

While Mashongwa succeeded in 2013 in the high court in Pretoria in claiming damages from Prasa for his injuries‚ the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) last year upheld the appeal by Prasa and dismissed Mashongwa’s claim.

The SCA found that Mashongwa had failed to establish that Prasa's negligence caused the attack he suffered.

Gilbert Marcus SC‚ for Mashongwa‚ said the Constitutional Court should determine what the agency ought to have done to prevent the attack on Mashongwa.

Marcus said Prasa did nothing to ensure Mashongwa’s safety after he had boarded the train.

“Evidence (in the high court) was that there were no guards at all‚ and the presence of even one armed guard would have acted as a deterrent.” Marcus said what happened to Mashongwa was not an isolated incident.

“We know there were five robberies every month.”

Jaap Cilliers SC‚ for Prasa‚ said the agency did take reasonable steps to ensure the safety of commuters.

Cilliers said while Prasa did not have guards on the train‚ it ensured the safety of commuters by stopping trains between stations to search for weapons.

Cilliers said an armed guard on a coach would not have been a deterrent to the robbers‚ and Prasa could not afford to deploy guards in each and every coach in service.

“The inquiry should be whether Prasa is taking reasonable steps considering budget resources‚” Cilliers said.

The court reserved judgment. -Ernest Mabuza, RDM News Wire