RAF In the News
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Keeping you updated on critical developments within the Road Accident Fund.
Caution: Road Accident Benefits Scheme ‘will create new victims, not justice’
By Conviction Staff Reporter | Published on July 10th, 2025 | Conviction The Road Accident Benefits Scheme promises reform, but critics warn it will dismantle hard-won legal protections, exclude vulnerable victims, and deepen systemic failures • Fewer rights, no court access, and reduced compensation.• Vulnerable groups, including dependents and informal workers, left out.• System can’t cope with 1.5 million payments a year. The Association for the Protection of Road Accident Victims (APRAV) has voiced strong opposition to the reintroduction of the Road Accident Benefits Scheme (RABS), a Bill previously rejected multiple times by Parliament due to its unconstitutional limitations, unaffordable structure, and impractical design. “You can’t fix a broken system by stripping away rights. RABS is not reform; it’s regression,” says Ngoako Mohlaloga, APRAV Deputy Chairperson. APRAV’s response follows COSATU’s recent public support for RABS, which the trade union federation called a progressive measure aimed at protecting the poor. But APRAV
Inside the RAF’s broken books — CEO Letsoalo’s court bid fails, deficit stays
By Yeshiel Panchia | Published on June 29, 2025 | Daily Maverick Embattled Road Accident Fund CEO Collins Letsoalo’s court bid to keep his seat may have failed, but his possible ousting and the pending Scopa inquiry highlights the fundamental problem with the RAF’s books that no fuel levy increase can fix. On Thursday, 26 June the Pretoria High Court dismissed suspended Road Accident Fund (RAF) CEO Collins Letsoalo’s bid for reinstatement, finding his application to be vexatious. Letsoalo, who was suspended by the board four weeks ago on Monday, 3 June 2025 after allegedly failing to attend a Scopa hearing in breach of a statutory summons, now finds himself on the wrong end of a governance crisis. Judge Nasious Moshoanathe ruled that Letsoalo failed to show any factual or legal right to an urgent interdict. The court’s decision was welcomed by the Association for Protection of Road Accident Victims (Aprav).
Gauteng High Court rules against suspended RAF CEO Collins
By Zelda Venter | Published on June 26, 2025 | IOL Suspended Road Accident Fund (RAF) chief executive Collins Letsoalo’s suspension will remain in place, after the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, has turned down his application to immediately be reinstated as CEO. In a scathing judgment released late on Thursday, Judge Nasious Moshoanathe said Letsoalo’s application was vexatious. He found Letsoalo’s suspension effected by the RAF Board earlier this month is lawful, rational and reasonable. “There is no factual or legal basis to declare the suspension to be unlawful, irrational and unreasonable. Mr Letsoalo has failed to establish a prima facie right, even one open to any doubt. He failed to demonstrate any apprehension of irreparable harm. Thus, he is not entitled to an interdictory relief of any nature, be it interim or final,” the judge said. Accordingly, the application, although heard as one of urgency, falls to be dismissed, he added, slapping Letsoalo with the
Road accident victim advocates welcome SCOPA’s RAF probe, call for public input
By Kennedy Mudzuli | Published on June 24, 2025 | Conviction Key points SCOPA launches full inquiry into RAF, citing grave governance failures.APRAV views this as a breakthrough after over a decade of advocacy.Public submissions are now open as Parliament moves to restore institutional integrity. The Association for the Protection of Road Accident Victims (APRAV) has welcomed, with deep relief, the Standing Committee on Public Accounts’ (SCOPA) decision to initiate a full Parliamentary Inquiry into the Road Accident Fund (RAF). SCOPA’s move follows years of mounting concern over mismanagement, opaque governance, and alleged misconduct within the Fund, issues again laid bare during a heated committee session in Cape Town on 24 June 2025. APRAV, which has lobbied for over a decade through evidence submissions, expert commentary, and testimonies from victims and legal professionals, described the decision as a moment of long-awaited recognition. “This is a massive victory, not just for
Road Accident Fund is wasting millions on “chaotic” court cases
Written by Tania Broughton | Published on 10 June 2025 | GroundUp Lawyers aren’t sent to court, resulting in default judgments. A judge of the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria has blasted the Road Accident Fund (RAF) for its “chaotic approach to litigation” which has resulted in huge losses of public money. Courts are swamped with RAF cases, many of them without merit or with over-inflated claims for compensation. But “the main problem lies with the RAF”, said Judge Jan Pretorius in a recent judgment. The RAF does not deal with its matters properly, does not send lawyers to court to oppose applications or, if it does, does not provide them with any instructions. This results in “default” judgments. The fund would then apply to rescind the judgments, often on baseless grounds. “In this manner huge sums of money, public money, it must be emphasised, are lost,” said Judge Pretorius.
Law Firm Denies Road Accident Fund CEO’s Allegations of Irregular Profits
Written by SAT – International | Published on 9 June 2025 | MSN Gert Nel, CEO of Gert Nel Incorporated, has dismissed claims by suspended Road Accident Fund (RAF) CEO Collins Letsoalo that his law firm irregularly benefited from the fund, calling the allegations “baseless.” Letsoalo, currently suspended amid an investigation into the RAF’s affairs, previously accused Nel’s firm of pocketing over R2.2 billion from the fund over five years, suggesting the firm took excessive fees from settlements meant for accident victims. In an interview, Nel refuted the figures, stating Letsoalo’s calculations were flawed. “He incorrectly assumes we charge 25% of every settlement, which is not how contingency fees work,” Nel said. He emphasized that his firm’s fees are strictly regulated under the Contingency Fees Act and subject to court scrutiny. Contingency Fees Explained Nel clarified that contingency fees—payable only if a case succeeds—are capped at 25% of the settlement
State capture allegations come back to haunt RAF acting CIO
Written by Roy Cokayne | Published on 9 June 2025 | Moneyweb While RAF CEO launches legal bid to overturn his own suspension. The Road Accident Fund (RAF) board placed its acting chief investment officer (CIO) Sefotle Modiba on precautionary suspension following allegations that parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) was given misinformation about Modiba’s departure from the City of Johannesburg (CoJ). It has also emerged that RAF CEO Collins Letsoalo has lodged an urgent high court application to review and set aside last week’s decision by the fund’s board to suspend him with immediate effect for insubordination for defying a board instruction for him to attend a Scopa meeting on 28 May. Letsoalo is alleging the decision is unlawful, irrational, and unreasonable and is requesting the court to order his immediate reinstatement as RAF CEO. The application is scheduled to be heard next week. RAF board deputy chair Dr Nomonde
Gert Nel dismisses RAF allegations
Law firm Gert Nel Incorporated CEO Gert Nel has dismissed allegations by suspended RAF CEO Collins Letsoalo, who accused the firm of irregularly benefiting from the Road Accident Fund. Nel says the claims are baseless and insists that its 25-year track record is proof of its ethical and lawful practice. Watch the full interview of Gert Nel on the Newzroom Afrika YouTube channel:
RAF CEO Collins Letsoalo’s special leave ‘not legally sound’, board tells MPs
Written by Luyolo Mkentane | Published on 03 June 2025 | BusinessDay Executive suspended for insubordination related to his refusal to appear before Scopa, says deputy chair Mabuya-Moloele The Road Accident Fund (RAF) board admitted on Tuesday its decision to place CEO Collins Letsoalo on special leave was “not legally sound”. Briefing parliament’s portfolio committee on transport on the developments at RAF, deputy board chair Nomonde Mabuya-Moloele said the board had resolved in meetings on May 30 and June 2 to rescind its decision on May 27 to place Letsoalo on special leave… Read the full article here.