Only a matter of time before overcrowding in prisons flood the courts. Recently before the Constitutional Court was an application for leave to appeal against a decision of the Supreme Court of Appeal overturning a decision of the Western Cape High Court. The High Court declared the respondent liable for the delictual damages suffered by the applicant as a result of contracting tuberculosis (TB) while in detention. Having rejected the applicant’s claim on a narrow factual point on the application of the test for causation, the Supreme Court of Appeal upheld the respondent’s appeal and absolved her from liability. The Constitutional Court had a different view. The applicant, Mr Dudley Lee, was detained at Pollsmoor Prison from 1999 to 2004. The respondent is the Minister for Correctional Services. Lee was released on bail for a period of roughly two months in 2000.
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