Road Accident Fund South Africa: Key Updates, Court Rulings & Crisis Explained (April 2026)

The Road Accident Fund (RAF) continues to dominate South African headlines in 2026, with a series of landmark court rulings, mounting financial pressures, and urgent calls for legislative reform. As South Africa’s state-run third-party road accident insurer, the RAF is at the centre of a deepening institutional crisis — one that threatens to blow a multi-hundred-billion-rand hole in the national fiscus. Here is a comprehensive roundup of the most important RAF news and developments as of April 30, 2026.

1. Landmark SCA Ruling: RAF Must Compensate All Victims — Including Undocumented Foreigners

In one of the most significant legal developments of the year, the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) ruled on 17 April 2026 that the Road Accident Fund must compensate all road accident victims in South Africa — including undocumented foreign nationals.

The ruling dismissed the RAF’s appeal against an earlier Gauteng High Court decision that had struck down a RAF directive requiring foreign nationals to prove legal presence in South Africa at the time of injury. A full bench of three judges, led by Judge Norman Davis, found that the RAF Act makes no exclusion based on immigration status, and that the phrase “any person” in the Act includes all road accident victims regardless of their documentation status.

“These accidents don’t discriminate in respect of the victims thereof between race, gender, age or between illegal foreigners and citizens of this country.” — Judge Norman Davis

The RAF had argued that its policy was aimed at preventing fraud and avoiding conflict with the Immigration Act. The SCA dismissed the appeal with costs, finding that neither the Transport Minister nor the RAF is legally permitted to amend or limit the scope of the Act through policy decisions.

The ruling has significant financial implications for the already cash-strapped fund, and the Portfolio Committee on Transport has since called for the expedited reform of the RAF Act to manage and process claims more effectively.

2. RAF Dealt Twin Blows by the SCA: Post-Judgment Interest and Sunshine Hospital

In late March 2026, the SCA handed the RAF two further resounding defeats on the same day — both with serious cost implications for the fund.

Case 1: Automatic Post-Judgment Interest

In the matter of RAF vs Sheriff of the High Court, Pretoria East and Others, the SCA ruled unanimously that the RAF is obliged to pay post-judgment interest automatically on every late settlement — even when the original court order is silent on the subject. The court reaffirmed that under Section 2(1) of the Prescribed Rate of Interest Act, every judgment debt bears interest from the day it becomes payable as a matter of law. In RAF matters, this clock starts ticking 14 days after the court order is handed down.

Case 2: Sunshine Hospital — R92 Million Ordered Within 7 Days

In the second matter, Newnet Property (Pty) Ltd t/a Sunshine Hospital vs The Road Accident Fund, the SCA reversed a Pretoria High Court ruling and ordered the RAF to pay Sunshine Hospital more than R92 million within seven days. The hospital had accumulated a mountain of unpaid invoices after the RAF stopped paying in March 2020. The court also directed the RAF’s acting CEO, Radikwena Phora, by name to ensure compliance — a mandamus reflecting the court’s dwindling patience with institutional non-compliance.

3. Klerksdorp Court Orders RAF to Pay 209 Victims R47 Million in 30 Days

On 2 April 2026, the Klerksdorp Regional Court compelled the RAF to comply with all valid and existing court orders in favour of 209 road accident victims, ordering payment of a combined total of more than R47.3 million within 30 days.

The RAF had refused to pay, citing internal administrative issues — claiming that claims were “not registered” on its system. The court rejected this defence, with Magistrate MB Mamana ruling that “internal administrative errors, omissions or system issues with the RAF cannot override valid court orders.”

The court found that the RAF’s conduct “reflects a systemic failure to discharge its obligations” and granted mandamus (judicial command) relief to enforce the existing court orders.

4. The Financial Crisis: A R400–R500 Billion Ticking Time Bomb

The RAF’s financial situation has been described by analysts and parliamentarians as nothing short of catastrophic. Key figures include:

• The RAF’s long-term provisions are expected to rise from R387 billion in the current financial year to R426 billion by 2028/29, according to the 2026 Budget Review.
• Total contingent liabilities could exceed R500 billion — nearly one-fifth of the national government’s entire annual budget.
• Current liabilities stand at approximately R100 billion, with the fund technically insolvent.
• The backlog of outstanding claims stood at more than 440,000 at the end of March 2025.
• The RAF levy on fuel has risen from 41.5 cents per litre in 2008 to R2.25 per litre from 1 April 2026 — an annualised increase of approximately 9.8% — yet it remains insufficient to cover the fund’s liabilities.
• The fund processes only about 70,000 claims per year, down from 250,000 previously.

Scopa (Standing Committee on Public Accounts) chairperson Songezo Zibi described the situation starkly: “The RAF is technically insolvent. On average, they get about R50 billion a year from fuel levies. Their overheads are about R7 billion, and they pay out about R43 billion.”

5. Governance Failures and the Letsoalo Legacy

Much of the RAF’s current crisis has been attributed to the tenure of former CEO Collins Letsoalo (2020–2025), who was placed on special leave in May 2025 pending a Special Investigation Unit (SIU) probe. Key governance failures include:

• Five consecutive years of disclaimed or adverse audit opinions from the Auditor-General.
• Letsoalo earning R6 million per year plus a 40% performance bonus despite the fund’s deteriorating performance.
• A R79 million lease in Johannesburg linked to Letsoalo.
• A R4 million staff awards ceremony, including R40,000 spent on executive drinks.
• More than R15 billion in default judgments accumulated.
• Two media contracts worth R1 billion awarded under questionable circumstances.
• More than 50 employees on paid suspension for over three and a half years without finalised disciplinary cases.

In July 2025, Transport Minister Barbara Creecy dissolved the entire RAF board and appointed an interim board. Scopa has since started the process to criminally charge the former CEO.

6. Signs of Recovery? Parliament Remains Cautiously Optimistic

Despite the dire picture, the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Transport, Mr Donald Selamolela, stated in February 2026 that the RAF is showing signs of recovery.

“We are satisfied that indeed there is work happening to improve governance and stabilise the operation of RAF. The committee accepts that RAF is a challenged entity of government, besieged by historical factors that unnecessarily frustrated the work of the entity.”

Deputy Minister of Transport Mkhuleko Hlengwa likened the reform process to “fixing an aeroplane while airborne”, acknowledging the complexity of the task while affirming that direct claims processing remains an immediate priority.

7. Proposed Solutions and the Road Ahead

Experts and parliamentarians have proposed several potential solutions to the RAF’s crisis:

• Legislative reform: Capping payouts for future loss of income and medical expenses; moving from lump-sum payments to staggered disbursements to improve liquidity.
• Alternative dispute resolution: Appointing a panel of arbitrators to resolve cases without going to court, and an independent medical panel to assess injuries.
• Better administration: Defending claims properly, reducing default judgments, cutting waste, and paying valid creditors faster to stop interest compounding.
• Increased fuel levy: Acknowledging that R2.25 per litre is insufficient for a fund carrying hundreds of billions in liabilities — though this remains politically sensitive.
• RAF Act reform: Closing legislative loopholes and modernising the compensation model.

New laws are unlikely to come into effect until 2027 at the earliest, meaning the immediate crisis will need to be managed within the existing framework.

What This Means for Road Accident Victims in South Africa

For the hundreds of thousands of South Africans waiting for RAF compensation, the situation remains deeply concerning. Many victims are languishing in pain, unable to afford rehabilitation, while their claims are mired in administrative backlogs and legal delays. In some Gauteng courts, trial dates for RAF matters are being set as far out as November 2033.

If you have been involved in a road accident in South Africa and need to claim from the RAF, it is strongly advisable to:

1. Seek the assistance of a qualified personal injury attorney as soon as possible.
2. Ensure all documentation — including accident reports, medical records, and identity documents — is in order.
3. Follow up regularly on the status of your claim.
4. Be aware of your rights, including the right to enforce court orders if the RAF fails to pay.

Conclusion

The Road Accident Fund remains one of South Africa’s most pressing institutional crises. With landmark court rulings expanding its liability, a financial deficit that could exceed R500 billion, and a backlog of over 440,000 claims, the pressure on the fund — and on the national fiscus — is immense. While there are tentative signs of governance improvement under the new interim board, meaningful reform will require urgent legislative action, better administration, and a frank national conversation about how road accident compensation is funded in South Africa.

Stay updated on the latest Road Accident Fund news by bookmarking this page. We publish daily updates on RAF developments, court rulings, and claim processing news.

Sources: IOL Business, Currency News, Daily Maverick, Moneyweb, Sowetan, Times Live, Africa24 TV | Published: 30 April 2026