The Road Accident Fund v Mudawo and Others (Case no: 1185/2024) dataset1_litigation_timeline_1

This paper provides a comprehensive doctrinal analysis of the Supreme Court of Appeal's landmark judgment in The Road Accident Fund v Mudawo and Others ZASCA 54, delivered on 16 April 2026. The case resolved a pivotal legal dispute over whether the phrase \"any person\" in section 17(1) of the Road Accident Fund Act 56 of 1996 (the RAF Act) entitles illegal foreigners to claim compensation for injuries arising from motor vehicle accidents in South Africa. The Road Accident Fund (RAF) had, in 2022, unilaterally amended its claim form and issued a management directive purporting to exclude undocumented foreign nationals from the compensation scheme — an action that five judges of the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) unanimously condemned as a violation of the principle of legality, an ultra vires exercise of executive power, and an incorrect interpretation of the Act's plain language and social security purpose.