Man sues city council after falling into a man hole

A man who fell into an open water drain hole in the city and broke his jaw among other injuries is now suing Harare City Council for $20 000.

Everisto Mukorera, a mechanic at a garage along Robson Manyika Avenue, accuses council of negligently leaving the hole open and failing to properly light the area.

The man claims he suffered a broken jaw, disfigurement, loss of sense of taste and smell and severe pain as a result of council's "negligence."

But council is opposing the claim on the basis that the hole in question (along Leopold Takawira) is always covered with a concrete lid and if it was truly open, then it could have been vandalised or removed by illegal vendors to hide their wares. The accident occurred on July 3 last year at around 6pm.