BULAWAYO — Blanket Mine has suffered a major legal setback after the High Court cleared the way for the widow of a worker who died in a mine accident to pursue a US$335 966.40 compensation claim.
Justice Mpokiseng Dube dismissed a special plea of prescription raised by Caledonia Mining-backed Blanket Mine and three of its managers, meaning the widow’s claim can now proceed beyond the preliminary legal challenge.
Gracious Vambe, acting as widow and executrix of the estate of the late Andrew Clydon Phiri, is seeking compensation for the loss of her husband’s future earnings under the Accident Prevention Workers Compensation Scheme (SI 68/1990).
The case has cast a harsh spotlight on alleged safety failures at the mine, following evidence that serious problems with the equipment involved had been reported repeatedly before Phiri’s death.
Phiri, who was 35, worked as a diesel plant fitter and earned US$933.24 per month. He died on February 21, 2022, when a diesel-powered LHD machine he was reportedly attempting to park suffered brake failure and plunged into a 157-metre decline.
According to the court papers, Phiri and his colleagues had raised concerns about the machine’s braking system on January 4, January 18 and February 15 — yet the alleged defects were not rectified before the fatal incident.
A subsequent investigation by the Ministry of Mines and Mining Development reportedly uncovered a catalogue of safety deficiencies, including oil spillages, inadequate working space, a lack of barricades separating the workshop from the decline and defective brakes on the LHD machine.
The investigators concluded that the workshop was unsafe, the machine was in poor mechanical condition and management had failed to follow through on servicing and maintenance concerns.
Vambe subsequently sued Blanket Mine, mine manager GN Mafurutu, human resources manager Thulani Dingani and mechanical foreman Chatambudza Munenzvi.
The defendants argued that the claim had prescribed, saying the three-year period began running when Phiri died and expired in February 2025. They further contended that the appointment of an executor on February 16, 2024 did not give Vambe an additional year to institute proceedings.
Justice Dube agreed that the executor’s appointment did not assist Vambe on that point. The judge found that the additional year provided under Section 17 of the Prescription Act would have expired on February 16, 2025, before the original prescription period ended on February 21, 2025.
However, the court rejected the broader argument that prescription necessarily began on the date of Phiri’s death. Justice Dube found that Vambe did not possess all the facts needed to formulate her claim until she obtained the Ministry of Mines investigation report.
The report, received on March 20, 2024 after a court-approved amendment, contained details of the alleged negligence and safety shortcomings underpinning the claim.
The court rejected Vambe’s separate argument that conciliation proceedings launched in February 2024 had interrupted prescription. Justice Dube held that conciliation did not constitute the type of legal process contemplated under Section 19(2) of the Prescription Act. The judge also noted that the defendants had not acknowledged liability and that no qualifying process had been served to interrupt prescription.
Despite dismissing that argument, the court ruled that the claim itself had not prescribed because Vambe’s cause of action was not complete until she obtained the investigation findings.
Vambe issued summons on April 11, 2025, and served the defendants on April 24, 2025. Justice Dube consequently dismissed the special plea and ordered the first to fourth defendants to pay the costs.
The ruling does not determine liability or the final amount of compensation. It does, however, ensure that the widow’s claim — and the allegations of repeated warnings, defective equipment and management failures surrounding Phiri’s death — will receive a full hearing.
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