The respondent purchased 45 bags of 50kg PC 15 cement from N. Richards Rusape in October 2017. The appellant, who was employed at N. Richards, agreed to look after the cement which the respondent was to collect later. The respondent collected some of the cement through one Nyakurima, leaving a balance of 33 bags. When the respondent sought to collect the outstanding cement, the appellant was not forthcoming. The parties convened a meeting with the manager of N. Richards Rusape, where the appellant signed an acknowledgement of debt and committed to reimburse the respondent. The appellant reimbursed a few bags (3 bags per month starting from the acknowledgement date of 12 February 2019) but failed to deliver the balance of 33 bags. The respondent then issued summons claiming the balance or reimbursement. The Provincial Magistrate sitting at Rusape ordered the appellant to deliver 33 bags of Lafarge PC cement or the equivalent in monetary terms as at date of delivery or payment to the respondent.
The appeal was dismissed with costs against the appellant. The order of the Provincial Magistrate sitting at Rusape was upheld, requiring the appellant to deliver 33 bags of Lafarge PC cement or the equivalent in monetary terms as at date of delivery or payment to the respondent.
An employer is not vicariously liable for private transactions entered into by an employee outside the scope and course of employment. For vicarious liability to attach, the employee must be acting for and on behalf of the employer and within the scope of their employment mandate. Where an employee enters into a private arrangement with a third party that is not sanctioned by the employer and does not involve property entrusted to the employee by the employer, the employee bears personal liability for any breach of that private arrangement. An acknowledgement of debt signed by a party, coupled with evidence of partial performance, establishes personal liability and provides sufficient basis for a civil claim for the outstanding balance.
The Court noted that the fact that cement was purchased from N. Richards does not mean that N. Richards should be held liable for transgressions occasioned by its employee in a separate private arrangement. The Court also observed that there was no criminal element in the case as the employer did not complain of theft and the parties had reached a private agreement, which the appellant had partially honoured before defaulting. The Court commented that it was only after the appellant abrogated from availing the cement per the acknowledgement document that the respondent issued summons, suggesting that the respondent had acted reasonably in attempting to resolve the matter through agreement before resorting to litigation.
This case is significant in Zimbabwean jurisprudence (though heard in a Zimbabwean court, not South African) as it clarifies the boundaries between personal liability and vicarious liability of employers for employees' actions. It establishes that private arrangements entered into by employees outside the scope and course of their employment do not attract vicarious liability for the employer. The case also demonstrates the enforceability of acknowledgements of debt and the distinction between civil claims for breach of contract and criminal matters involving theft. It reinforces the principle that employers are only vicariously liable for employees' faults committed within the course and scope of employment, applying the principles set out in Gwatiringa v Jaravaza and Anor ZLR 2001 (1) 383.