<\/p>\n
The SCA upheld the lower court\u2019s interpretation of section 17(1) of the RAF Act, which refers to compensation being payable to \u201cany person\u201d injured or killed in a road accident. The court found that the wording does not exclude undocumented migrants, reaffirming that eligibility is based on injury arising from road use rather than immigration status.<\/p>\n
The ruling has been welcomed by migrant rights organisations, which argue that the decision upholds constitutional principles of equality and access to justice.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Speaking to Channel Africa on Monday, Vusimuzi Sibanda, President of the African Diaspora Forum, said the judgment confirms what the law has always intended.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cThe RAF is funded through a fuel levy paid by everyone who uses SA\u2019s roads, including migrants, documented or undocumented,\u201d Sibanda said. \u201cIt would be unjust to exclude people who contribute to the fund from benefiting when they are injured.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The RAF had argued that public funds should prioritise SA citizens and lawful residents, but the court rejected this position, noting that the Act does not make such distinctions. Sibanda said concerns about public resources cannot override clear legislative wording.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cIf people believe migrants should be excluded, then Parliament would need to amend the law,\u201d he said. \u201cEven then, such an amendment would likely be tested against constitutional protections.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The ruling comes amid ongoing financial strain at the RAF, which has struggled with deficits and administrative backlogs. Critics of the decision argue that extending claims to undocumented migrants could worsen the Fund\u2019s financial challenges. However, Sibanda said there is no evidence that migrant claims materially contribute to the RAF\u2019s crisis.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
He also noted that many undocumented migrants face practical barriers when making claims, including a lack of documentation, fear of approaching authorities and difficulty opening bank accounts.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is still a need for education and support to ensure people know their rights and can access the system,\u201d he said, adding that civil society organisations play a key role in assisting claimants.
\n–ChannelAfrica–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":32578,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"news-type":[44,26],"class_list":["post-32577","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-finance","news-type-general_news","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"South Africa\u2019s (SA) Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) has dismissed, with costs, an appeal by the Road Accident Fund (RAF) against a High Court ruling that allows undocumented foreign nationals to claim compensation from the Fund.","published_date":"","news_description":"South Africa\u2019s (SA) Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) has dismissed, with costs, an appeal by the Road Accident Fund (RAF) against a High Court ruling that allows undocumented foreign nationals to claim compensation from the Fund.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/32577","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/32577\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32579,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/32577\/revisions\/32579"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32578"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32577"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=32577"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}