Marco forgot to ‘susu’ (to relive himself) before he embarked on his 9-hour journey. Along the way, he struck up a conversation with a fellow passenger who ‘was dressed as a priest. So, when they reached the first stop, he asked the passenger to look after his laptop bag and went to susu. Upon returning, he found the seat empty and no bag in sight. He was informed by other passengers that the father had reached his destination and had boarded a boda boda. Marco wants to know why the bus attendants allowed the father to steal his bag when they were responsible for its safety.
What does the law say?
By law, we have something that is referred to as duty of care. What a duty of care is, simply put, is a responsibility that is on certain persons in any transaction. For example, bus companies have a responsibility to transport their customers, together with their luggage safely and with skill up to their destination.
Does that mean that they would be responsible for your lost bag?
Not necessarily. This is because as a passenger you are responsible for the safety of your own property. While buses carry the passengers’ luggage, the primary responsibility is to transport you safely to your destination. Therefore, the bus company looks after you together with your luggage as one. So, if you walk out to ‘susu’ without your luggage and someone else ‘keeps’ it, then you have only yourself to blame for that negligence. However, sometimes a company may operate a ‘courier’ service to transport luggage specifically. If a bus company, to which luggage had been deposited with the courier loses your bag, then they are responsible.
However, should it have been with you and through your carelessness it gets lost, then you have only yourself for not being responsible enough.
📷: Spider Coaches Uganda
#BarefootLaw
#osutayusuf
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