Gymnast left ‘near vegetative’ after 2023 accident at Pomona facility; Theme park files appeal<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Friday 13 February 2026
Zim GBC News | Crimes and Courts<\/p>\n\n\n\n
HARARE \u2013 The High Court has awarded a record US$1.6 million in damages to a young gymnast who was left permanently paralysed following a catastrophic accident at Jump Trampoline Park in Pomona, in what legal experts are describing as the largest personal injury payout in Zimbabwean history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rebecca Nezuru Conlon, a promising athlete who was preparing for international competition, broke her neck and fractured her spinal cord while jumping at the facility on 6 January 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 23 January 2026 judgment by Justice Siyabona Paul Musithu found the park liable for negligence, awarding the family US$1,607,939 in damages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, the victory is now under threat. On 12 February 2026, Jump Trampoline Park filed a notice of appeal with the Supreme Court, challenging both the finding of liability and the quantum of damages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018They watched and did nothing\u2019 \u2014 Judge slams park supervision<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In his ruling, Justice Musithu delivered a scathing assessment of the park\u2019s safety failures, finding that staff had observed dangerous behaviour but failed to intervene.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe defendant owed a duty of care to the plaintiff to act positively and reasonably to prevent physical harm that was reasonably foreseeable,\u201d the judge stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The court heard that Jump Trampoline Park was frequented predominantly by minors and constituted a \u201cpotentially hazardous environment.\u201d Justice Musithu emphasised that heightened supervision was necessary because children are prone to \u201cunpredictable and erratic bouts of behaviour.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Her future was shattered in a flash\u2019 \u2014 The human toll<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The judgment painted a devastating picture of Conlon\u2019s condition. Despite receiving treatment in both Zimbabwe and South Africa, she remains permanently paralysed, requires lifelong specialised care, and has no use of her limbs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAll the dreams that she harboured for the future were shattered in a flash,\u201d Justice Musithu wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe accident left the plaintiff in a near vegetative state.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Advocate Thabani Mpofu, who led Conlon\u2019s legal team, had initially sought US$6.37 million under Aquilian action. While the award fell short of that figure, legal observers note it represents a seismic shift in Zimbabwe\u2019s historically conservative approach to personal injury damages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Breakdown of the record award<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The court awarded damages under the following heads:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Head of Damage Amount (US$)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pain and suffering $300,000
Loss of current and future amenities $200,000
Shortened expectation of life $200,000
Disfigurement $80,000
Loss of professional earnings $180,000
Loss of earning capacity $150,000
Current medical and hospital expenses $170,000
Future medical and hospital expenses $327,939
TOTAL $1,607,939<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Justice Musithu acknowledged the inherent difficulty of compensating a destroyed life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt must be recognised that translating personal injuries into money is equating the incommensurable; money cannot replace a physical frame that has been permanently injured,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rejecting arguments that the award departed excessively from precedent, the judge added: \u201cIt is not entirely correct that the court cannot make an award which differs significantly from what courts have awarded in the past\u2026 The value of human life is priceless.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018We are appealing\u2019 \u2014 Theme park contests judgment<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jump Trampoline Park, represented by Advocate Tawanda Zhuwarara, denied negligence throughout the trial and sought to rely on indemnity clauses signed by users. The court dismissed this defence, finding that indemnity provisions did not shield the facility from liability arising from its own negligence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Zhuwarara has since filed an appeal with the Supreme Court. The park has not issued a public statement regarding the appeal or confirmed whether it will continue operating during the pendency of legal proceedings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Legal experts hail \u2018watershed moment\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Practitioners have described the judgment as transformative for catastrophic injury litigation in Zimbabwe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Conlon family has not commented publicly since the appeal was filed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Efforts to reach their legal representatives were ongoing at the time of publication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Zim GBC News | Global News From An African Perspective\u00a9\ufe0f2026<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Gymnast left ‘near vegetative’ after 2023 accident at Pomona facility; Theme park files appeal Friday 13 February 2026Zim GBC News | Crimes and Courts HARARE \u2013 The High Court has… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12192,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[117],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12191","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-court-and-crime"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12191","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12191"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12191\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12193,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12191\/revisions\/12193"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12192"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12191"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12191"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12191"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}