Domestic worker sues Pitso Mosimane and his wife for R5,7m over injuries

South African football coach Pitso Mosimane and his wife are being sued for R5,7million by their former domestic worker after she claims to have sustained injuries that left her borderline disabled and unable to bear children while working for them.

The domestic worker, Dorothy Sikirivao, filed a lawsuit in the Johannesburg High Court in which she is seeking recourse from Mosimane and his wife, Moira Tlhagale, as she claimed they stopped paying for her medical bills as she sought further treatment, despite earlier promises to do so.

Sikirivao is said to have sustained spine related injuries while clearing debris, as renovations were being made on the Mosimane household.

Among injuries she suffered in were a crack in the skull, blood clots in the brain, dislocation of the shoulder, fracture in the upper backbone, fracture in the mid-backbone, fracture in the lower backbone, pressure on the spinal cord, dislocation of the hip, dislocation of the right leg and other injuries.

Sikirivao sustained the injuries in April 2021 and then returned to work a month later after serving a period of sick leave.

“This was because of the tedious nature of the work she did and the potential of aggravating the injuries. The injuries she sustained from the said accident were of such a nature that exacting physical labour will aggravate them,” read the papers.

According to the lawsuit, Mosimane and his wife defied medical advice and convinced their worker to carry on in their service despite her condition.

“The defendants refused and or ignored all entreaties to grant the plaintiff reprieve by extending her sick leave.

“In the circumstance, thereof, the injuries sustained by the plaintiff from the said accident were eventually aggravated to the extent that the plaintiff was borderline disabled,” read the papers.

The lawyers stated that when the accident occurred, the domestic worker was under the direct supervision of the couple.

“It was the defendants who ordered the plaintiff to remove the debris from the construction work at their residence.

“Barring the defendants commissioning the construction work and ordering the plaintiff to remove the debris from the construction work, the accident of the 26th of April 2021 would not have occurred.

“The defendants are jointly and severally liable for the compensation of the plaintiff to restore her to the state of health she was prior to the said accident.

“The defendants did accept this liability by footing the initial bills for the treatment of the plaintiff before becoming recalcitrant and belligerent about it for reasons unknown to the plaintiff,” read the papers.