The families of 11 of the 20 children who perished in the tragic school dorm fire in Mahdia back in 2023 have filed a $16.5 Billion lawsuit against the State.

In the Court documents seen by News Source, the parents through Attorney Daren Wade, are asking the High Court to declare that the State breached its duty of care of the victims, and that its actions and omissions in relation to the injuries sustained by the now dead victims constituted a breach of their fundamental rights under the Constitution.

The families are also asking the Court to declare that the confinement of the victims behind locked grills, with the doors and windows padlocked from within, preventing them from leaving the building and leading to their deaths in a fire, constituted torture, inhumane and degrading punishment, and a violation of fundamental human rights under the Constitution.

They are also arguing that the conditions under which the children were housed resulted in a breach of their fundamental rights and liberty, in particular the freedom of movement under the Constitution, and that their deaths were as a result of the negligence of the State.

In the circumstances, the parents are claiming damages in excess of $500M for each child, who perished in the incident; aggravated damages in excess of $500M for each of the victims in light of the emotional and psychological distress caused by the actions and omissions of the State; and another $500M in exemplary damages for each child in order to deter the State from engaging in such “reckless, negligent, and inhumane conduct in the future,” a total of $16.5 Billion.

In laying down the case, Attorney Darren Wade is arguing that at the time of the fire, the victims were under the care, custody and control of the State, and the State had a duty to ensure the safety and well-being of the children and all other occupants in the school’s dormitory located in Mahdia, Region 8.

“The State had a positive duty to ensure that all persons under its care and custody were in a safe and protective environment [and] the State breached this duty by failing to implement proper safety measures, including fire extinguishers, sprinklers, and fire sand buckets. Additionally, the State breached its duty by failing to provide adequate security, access control and an evacuation plan for the dormitory,” the Attorney submitted.

It was argued that the consequence of the State’s failure to uphold its duty of care was that barriers trapped the students inside the burning dormitory, leading to tragic and avoidable deaths.

“Several months prior to the deaths of the children, the Fire Service informed the State of the impending danger. Despite this, the State took no steps to correct deficiencies in fire safety measures, such as the lack of fire extinguishers, sprinklers, proper ventilation, and the presence of locked and grilled windows and doors in the dormitory. This failure directly contributed to the tragic incident,” the Attorney argued.

He further submitted that the grilled doors and windows, as well as the prevention of exits, were measures implemented by the State to restrict the movement of the children who occupied the dormitory, particularly at night, without considering the critical need for fire safety and emergency evacuation procedures.

Wade also submitted that two months after the deadly blaze, the Attorney General traveled to Mahdia where he encouraged the families of the victims to sign a settlement agreement, indicating that it was part of several initiatives under taken by the Government. 

Having signed the agreement, the families were paid $5M for each of the victims.

However, the Attorney for the families argues that that agreements have no legal effect, adding that at the time, the grieving families had no independent legal advice.

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