Tizai Chiswanda (in his capacity as father and guardian of Chidochashe Chiswanda) v OK Zimbabwe Limited

Judgment No. SC 84/20

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Case Details

Court

Supreme Court

Date

22 June 2020

Citation

Judgment No. SC 84/20

Neutral Citation

[2020] ZWSC 84

Judgment No.

SC 84/20

Outcome

unknown

Case Type

Appeal

Bench

Presiding

GOWORA JA

Full Bench

GOWORA JAGARWE JABERE JA

Areas of Law

DelictCivil Procedure

Keywords

negligenceduty of careprima facie caseabsolution from the instancedisplay shelfchild injury

Key Issues

{"issue_text":"Whether the court a quo erred in granting absolution from the instance at the close of the appellant's case.","issue_type":"procedural","dispositive":"yes","related_facts":"The appellant had established a prima facie case; OK Zimbabwe's plea contained positive averments requiring them to lead evidence."}
{"issue_text":"Whether the appellant established a prima facie case of negligence against OK Zimbabwe.","issue_type":"mixed","dispositive":"yes","related_facts":"The collapse of the shelf and the injuries sustained; OK Zimbabwe's duty to provide a safe environment."}

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background

Facts of the Case

Background

The appellant's minor daughter was injured when a soccer ball display cabinet fell on her at an OK Mart store. The appellant sued OK Zimbabwe for damages, but the High Court granted absolution from the instance at the close of his case, finding he failed to prove negligence. The Supreme Court found this was a misdirection, as OK Zimbabwe's plea contained positive averments about how the incident occurred, which required them to lead evidence.

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