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Securico ordered to pay mine US$675,000 over gold bullion heist
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Security firm DDNS Security Operations, trading as Securico, has been ordered by the High Court to pay US$675,000 to How Mine after it lost nearly 12 kilograms of gold bullion in an armed robbery while ferrying the consignment to Bulawayo in October 2022.
The gold, weighing 11.95kg, was lost during a brazen heist on October 4, 2022, prompting How Mine to sue the security company for negligence and breach of contract. The court found that Securico had failed to provide adequate protection for the high-value cargo, including not using an armoured vehicle and deploying guards who lacked basic communication tools such as panic buttons and mobile phone airtime.
Securico had challenged the claim, arguing that the robbery was an unforeseeable event - a vis major - and that no reasonable human foresight could have prevented it. However, in a judgment handed down on July 1, Justice Joseph Chilimbe dismissed the company's defence.
"Securico, as a public carrier, was obliged under the Praetor's Edict's strict liability to deliver the consignment intact," Justice Chilimbe ruled. "It assumed the risk when it accepted the commission to ferry How Mine's bullion under security arrangements that were, by its own standards, less than adequate."
The judge noted that both parties were aware of the risks associated with transporting gold, and that Securico's failure to use an armoured truck or to equip its guards with sufficient communication tools amounted to negligence.
"In its plea, Securico averred that the event was unforeseeable. Yet in evidence, its own witnesses acknowledged that such robberies were a well-known risk," the judge said.
Justice Chilimbe was particularly critical of the security firm's use of a "soft skin" vehicle - lacking ballistic protection - and its internal policy instructing guards not to engage robbers with force, which he said effectively exposed the consignment to loss.
"The decision to prioritise the preservation of life is commendable. But where a carrier knowingly embarks on a high-risk mission with limited security capacity and instructs its personnel not to resist aggression, it assumes the risk of loss," he said.
The court also questioned the guards' failure to alert police or Securico's own rapid response teams in the wake of the robbery, stating this bordered on negligence.
Justice Chilimbe concluded that Securico had failed to meet the legal threshold required to prove that the robbery was an unavoidable act beyond its control.
"Securico is ordered to pay How Mine the sum of US$675,000, with interest at a rate of five percent per annum from October 4, 2022, until full payment is made," the judge ruled.
Advocate Thabani Mpofu represented How Mine in the case, while Securico was represented by lawyer Romeo Chatereza.
The gold, weighing 11.95kg, was lost during a brazen heist on October 4, 2022, prompting How Mine to sue the security company for negligence and breach of contract. The court found that Securico had failed to provide adequate protection for the high-value cargo, including not using an armoured vehicle and deploying guards who lacked basic communication tools such as panic buttons and mobile phone airtime.
Securico had challenged the claim, arguing that the robbery was an unforeseeable event - a vis major - and that no reasonable human foresight could have prevented it. However, in a judgment handed down on July 1, Justice Joseph Chilimbe dismissed the company's defence.
"Securico, as a public carrier, was obliged under the Praetor's Edict's strict liability to deliver the consignment intact," Justice Chilimbe ruled. "It assumed the risk when it accepted the commission to ferry How Mine's bullion under security arrangements that were, by its own standards, less than adequate."
The judge noted that both parties were aware of the risks associated with transporting gold, and that Securico's failure to use an armoured truck or to equip its guards with sufficient communication tools amounted to negligence.
"In its plea, Securico averred that the event was unforeseeable. Yet in evidence, its own witnesses acknowledged that such robberies were a well-known risk," the judge said.
Justice Chilimbe was particularly critical of the security firm's use of a "soft skin" vehicle - lacking ballistic protection - and its internal policy instructing guards not to engage robbers with force, which he said effectively exposed the consignment to loss.
"The decision to prioritise the preservation of life is commendable. But where a carrier knowingly embarks on a high-risk mission with limited security capacity and instructs its personnel not to resist aggression, it assumes the risk of loss," he said.
The court also questioned the guards' failure to alert police or Securico's own rapid response teams in the wake of the robbery, stating this bordered on negligence.
Justice Chilimbe concluded that Securico had failed to meet the legal threshold required to prove that the robbery was an unavoidable act beyond its control.
"Securico is ordered to pay How Mine the sum of US$675,000, with interest at a rate of five percent per annum from October 4, 2022, until full payment is made," the judge ruled.
Advocate Thabani Mpofu represented How Mine in the case, while Securico was represented by lawyer Romeo Chatereza.
Source - zimlive
