Helicopter crash families sue BPS for P15m
Sharon Mathala | Friday June 10, 2016 18:00
In the papers filed before court, through their lawyer, Malcom Gobhoza the deceased’s families now want P15,072,217.39 from the BPS.
As previously reported, on April 20, 2014, superintendent Keokeditswe Sobatha, assistant superintendent Shepherd Ntobedzi and inspector Ricardo Mabotho were involved in a fatal aircraft crash.
The trio was en route to Maun from Gumare when the police helicopter AS350 Euro-copter (BPS-02) went missing. The search for the helicopter ensued and they were found two days later.
The police then shockingly revealed that they had not ordered the officers to fly on that day and that they did so on their own. The police issued the families with a one-sentence report of the accident prompting the distraught families to approach the courts citing discontent with the police explanations and the report of the fatal crash.
Fast-forward to last Friday, the families now seek damages for the loss of their relatives. In fresh papers before court, the Sobatha family has said that they should be compensated for emotional shock for an amount of P280,000, loss of prospective and accrued benefits for P2, 926,747.02, loss of consortium and servitium to the amount of P100,000.
They also seek the police to pay them child maintenance of the deceased’s two children, a joint amount of P3,609,015.69. In total the family of air wing captain Sobatha are seeking from her former employer an amount of P7,815,762.71.
The late assistant superintendent Ntobedzi’s family is seeking a total of P7,256,454.68 being for loss of support and maintenance, consortium and servitium as well as emotional shock and stress.
The claim involves P360,000 for emotional shock and stress, an amount of P1,200,000 for loss of consortium and servitium, loss of prospective and accrued benefits totalling P2,947,266.65, loss of support and maintenance and educational expenses up to tertiary level for both minor children amounting to P2,189,188.03. Emotional shock and stress for one Karabo and Katlo Ntobedzi amounting to P280,000 each.
Meanwhile, the Attorney General (AG) has apologised to the families for delaying the report. In a letter dated May 10, 2016, the AG says they will, however, comply with the court orders.
“Kindly note that we have since sent the said judgment (high court judgment that minister Mabeo should avail the crash report) to our client herein the Ministry of Transport and Communications for their compliance.”
“We sincerely apologise for the delay in compliance with the said order and we shall contact our client to ascertain the cause of delay,” reads the letter. Gaborone High Court Judge Abednego Tafa has ruled that the Minister of Transport and Communications, Tshenolo Mabeo is charged with the responsibility to decide whether or not to make public the contents of the report. He says such discretion has to be ‘devoid of capriciousness or malafides’.
“Where the minister declined to release the report, he is enjoined to give reasons for his refusal. In the instant case, the second respondent (the minister) has chosen to remain silent about the report or its release,” the judge said, adding that the expectation was the minister would either say he has no objection to the release of the report or that in his view the release of the report would be inadvisable.
The judge also believes that the applicants in the case being the close relatives of the deceased persons are entitled to know how their loved ones died for purposes of closure.
“As it is the information that was relayed to them by the first respondent (The Botswana Police Service) does not shed any light into what really happened,” Tafa said.