Putco (Pty) Ltd v Winnie Mina Mosholi

The respondent, Ms Winnie Mosholi, was a fare‑paying passenger on a bus operated by the appellant, Putco (Pty) Ltd. The bus was involved in a collision with a bakkie, causing the bus to overturn and resulting in multiple injuries and fatalities. Ms Mosholi sustained injuries and claimed damages. The Road Accident Fund settled her passenger claim to the statutory limit of R25 000 under the Road Accident Fund Act 56 of 1996, as it then stood. She then sued Putco in the North Gauteng High Court for the balance of her damages, alleging that the collision was caused by the negligent driving of the bus driver, Mr Stephen Seloane, who was acting in the course and scope of his employment. The trial proceeded on liability only. The trial court was faced with mutually destructive versions regarding how the collision occurred and resolved the matter on credibility, preferring the evidence of a witness in the bakkie over that of the bus driver.

The appeal was dismissed with costs, and the finding that Putco (Pty) Ltd was liable for the respondent’s proven damages exceeding R25 000 was upheld.

The case reaffirms well‑established principles governing appellate interference with factual and credibility findings of trial courts, particularly in cases involving mutually destructive versions. It underscores that where probabilities are evenly balanced, credibility may be decisive, and appellate courts will defer to trial courts absent clear misdirection. Although expressly stated to have no precedential significance, it illustrates the application of these principles in delictual motor vehicle claims.