On the first day of the 2010 World Cup Siyamcela Moses Mnengi was thrown from a moving train. Now he may finally get compensation.
|||Cape Town - It was the first day of the 2010 Soccer World Cup, and Bafana Bafana scored a goal in the opening match against Mexico.
It was a time that will forever remain etched in the memories of South Africans, especially that of former Khayelitsha van assistant Siyamcela Moses Mnengi - but for totally different reasons.
Mnengi was fighting for his life after losing a leg and suffering severe head injuries after being pushed out of the open doors of a moving train at Nolungile Railway Station, Khayelitsha.
He had been on his way to the Grand Parade Fan Fest.
Mnengi survived, but was left with a serious brain injury that makes him forgetful and affects his ability to complete day-to-day tasks.
Months later Mnengi sued the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa for R9.9 million in damages, alleging that the agency was negligent for failing to ensure that the doors of the overcrowded train were closed before the train moved off from the platform.
Earlier this month the Western Cape High Court ruled that the agency was liable for Mnengi’s injuries. The judgment was handed down last Friday by acting Judge Kate Savage.
Judge Savage, however, was only tasked with deciding the merits of Mnengi’s claim.
The case must now be re-enrolled for the damages sum to be determined.
Mnengi, now 25, said this week he was very happy at the outcome.
“It’s been years and I was thinking of quitting this thing.”
Thanking his attorney André Neser for assisting him with the case, Mnengi said: “He’s the one who made this all happen and always helped me to stay hopeful.”
Mnengi has had a prosthetic leg since 2011, but has not been able to work again, in spite of being the breadwinner for his domestic worker mother, twin sisters and younger brother at the time of the accident.
He struggles with depression, and says he has to rely on his mother for emotional, mental and financial support.
He has often felt useless for being unable to fulfil his traditional role as the eldest son.
To this day, he said, he still had nightmares about the incident, even though he still couldn’t recall the actual details.
These days he takes minibus taxis rather trains.
He said he was looking forward to the end.
“It could be big for me because then I can support my family.”
A date for the case has not yet been set.
Weekend Argus