A 13-Year Fight for Justice: Prasa Ordered to Pay R6.4m to Man Pushed From Train

In a landmark ruling that confronted the lingering shadows of apartheid-era discrimination, the Western Cape High Court has ordered the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) to pay R6.4 million in damages to Aviwe Hopewell Tobi, a Gugulethu man whose life was shattered when he was pushed from a moving train in 2013. The judgment is a profound victory for Tobi, now 37, who lost his right leg and his ability to work in a brutal attack that highlighted the dangers of the country’s rail system.

The incident occurred near Bonteheuwel in November 2013 when Tobi was 25. He suffered catastrophic injuries: his crushed right foot led to an amputation, his left foot required skin grafts, and he sustained a deep head laceration. Hospitalised at Groote Schuur Hospital for over a month, his life was permanently altered.

A Battle Over Lifelong Cost and Constitutional Dignity

Prasa had already conceded 50% liability for the incident. The recent trial focused solely on determining fair compensation for Tobi’s lifelong needs. A pivotal point of contention was how to calculate his life expectancy for future loss calculations. Acting Judge Fareed Moosa delivered a powerful rebuke to Prasa’s legal team, rejecting the use of actuarial tables that proposed a lower life expectancy based on income levela method he stated was rooted in apartheid discrimination.

Judge Moosa held that using such tables would violate Tobi’s constitutional rights to equality and dignity, opting instead for a fairer estimate. “Compensation must be grounded in respect for the dignity and equality of injured persons, rather than assumptions rooted in historical inequality,” the judge emphasised.

A Future of Medical Care and Lost Potential

Medical experts testified that Tobi requires lifelong care, including prosthetic devices, and is effectively unemployable in the open labour market due to his disability, limited education, and lack of transferable skills. While Tobi initially sought over R14.5 million, the court’s final award of R6.4 million covers future medical expenses, prosthetics, transport to appointments, and past and future loss of earnings.

The ruling is more than a financial settlement; it is a corrective. It affirms that the value of a life cannot be diminished by outdated, discriminatory metrics. For Aviwe Tobi, it marks the end of a 13-year legal struggle for recognition and the beginning of a financially secure, if forever changed, future. For South Africa, it sets a constitutional precedent that dignity, not demographic prejudice, must dictate justice.