Municipality of Cape Town v Bakkerud

The respondent, an elderly resident of Sea Point, Cape Town, was injured when she stepped into one of two unrepaired holes in a tarred pavement in Mount Nelson Road. The holes had existed for at least six months and were approximately 15 cm wide and 10 cm deep. Although aware of the holes, she stepped into one and fell, suffering injuries and loss. The Municipality of Cape Town, which had statutory powers (but no statutory obligation) to repair pavements, repaired the holes shortly after the accident. The respondent sued for damages in the magistrate’s court and succeeded.

The appeal succeeded in part. The Supreme Court of Appeal set aside the approach of imposing a general legal duty on municipalities, but did not restore absolute immunity. Liability must be assessed on an ad hoc basis according to the legal convictions of the community. (The specific order on the damages award is not fully set out in the provided text.)

This case is a leading authority on delictual liability of municipalities for omissions. It clarified that municipalities do not enjoy blanket immunity for failure to repair roads and pavements, but equally are not subject to a universal legal duty to do so. The decision entrenched the Ewels test—legal convictions of the community—as the guiding principle in omission cases involving public authorities, marking a significant shift from rigid immunity doctrines to a flexible, policy-driven analysis.