Court rejects RAF bid to cancel immigrant injury payout

The High Court in Cape Town  on Monday dismissed Road Accident Fund attempt to cancel  R1.46 million damages payout to a Malawian man injured in a 2016 car crash, ruling the Fund claims about his immigration status were false and misleading.

Judge James Lekhuleni ordered RAF to cover all legal costs after rejecting its argument that the settlement should be scrapped because  claimant was an illegal immigrant.

In 2018, Charles Jeka Chipofya filed a claim with the RAF for injuries he sustained near Plettenberg Bay in September 2016, and the case was settled in January 2023 when both parties agreed to the payout.”

Months later, RAF sought to reverse the order, alleging it only then discovered Chipofya held two passports and violated immigration laws.

The fund claimed it would never have settled had it known his status.

Chipofya countered that the fund knew about his immigration issues before finalizing the deal. Evidence showed the RAF lawyers referenced his expired visa during 2022 settlement talks and even reduced their loss-of-earnings offer explicitly because of his undocumented status.

The court noted RAF waited 501 days to file its rescission request without explaining the delay.

Judge Lekhuleni found the fund narrative demonstrably false, stressing its legal team had acknowledged Chipofya status during negotiations.

The ruling sidestepped broader questions about undocumented immigrants’ eligibility for accident payouts, focusing instead on the fund failure to prove any error invalidating the original settlement.

The dismissal forces the fund to honour the R1.46 million payment and cover Chipofya legal bills.