Transnet Limited v Arlindo de Assis Januario Maela

The respondent (plaintiff in the High Court) sued Transnet Limited for damages after sustaining serious injuries while travelling as a passenger on a Transnet-operated train on 23 June 2004. He alleged that after leaving Dunswart station he was robbed by fellow passengers, forcibly thrown out of a moving train, and injured as a result. Transnet denied this version and led evidence from a security officer, Mr Ceba, who testified that the respondent attempted to alight from the train at Apex station after realising he had missed Benoni station, and jumped from the moving train despite being warned not to do so. The High Court accepted the respondent’s version and found Transnet liable. Transnet appealed to the Supreme Court of Appeal.

The appeal was upheld with costs. The order of the High Court was set aside and replaced with an order dismissing the action with costs.

The case is significant for its reaffirmation of the correct approach to resolving mutually destructive versions in civil trials. It underscores the limited role of demeanour in assessing credibility and stresses the importance of probabilities and contemporaneous documentary evidence. The judgment also clarifies the distinction between the existence of a legal duty and proof of negligence in delictual claims against public transport operators.