The Road Accident Fund welcomes the arrest of an attorney who allegedly stole RAF money awarded to a widow

The Road Accident Fund welcomes the arrest of Eastern Cape attorney Shaun Masimla for allegedly robbing a widow of a substantial amount of money following the death of her husband in a motor vehicle accident. The victim’s husband was involved in a fatal accident in Gqeberha in 2010.

Masimla, from Shaun Masimla Attorneys appeared in the Gqeberha New Law Court on Tuesday, facing charges of fraud and theft after being arrested by the Hawks. Following her husband’s passing, the widow successfully lodged a claim with the Fund through Shaun Masimla Attorneys. She was awarded over R500,000 which was paid into Shaun Masimla’s trust account.

According to information by the Hawks, the widow only received R80,000 from the attorneys. Following a complaint to the RAF, the matter was reported to the Hawks for an investigation, which confirmed the amount paid by the RAF to Shaun Masimla’s trust account. It is alleged that the attorney used all the money he allegedly withheld for his personal benefit.

Through the RAF Amendment Bill, which is currently before Parliament, the Fund is proposing doing away with attorneys when victims of motor vehicle accidents lodge their claims with the Road Accident Fund. This is partly due to the many problems visited by attorneys upon the Fund over the decades, which have at some point, contributed to the near collapse of the RAF.

Among others, attorneys have recently resisted and fought in court against the introduction of the RAF1 claim form, a positive step aimed at speeding up the claims process and assist victims of car accidents with the timeous settlement of their claims. The RAF1 form enables claimants to submit all the necessary documents and information to commence processing of their claims, thus leading to the settlement of cases within at least 120 days.

The practice preferred by attorneys, which entails issuing of summons and dragging claims unnecessarily beyond the 120 days, enables legal practitioners to line the pockets as long as possible from administrative and legal costs. As a result of this litigious model, more than 80% of claims capable of settlement without litigation are settled at the corridors of the courts – at a huge and avoidable expense to the RAF.

RAF CEO Collins Letsoalo said, “Masimla’s arrest is sadly part of an endemic problem and affirms the proposal by the RAF through the amendment bill, for road accident victims to deal directly with Fund.”