Our courts continue to provide guidance on the application of prescription where the Road Accident Fund (RAF) assumes responsibility for a claimant’s matter, particularly in circumstances where a claimant lodges a claim directly with the RAF without the assistance of an independent attorney. This issue was central to the recent decision in Cele v Road Accident Fund [2026] ZAMPMBHC 2 (21 January 2026), where the RAF raised a special plea that the plaintiff’s claim had prescribed, notwithstanding that the RAF had handled the claim for most of the five-year prescription period, before Cele terminated the RAF's mandate five months prior to prescription.
The RAF argued that more than five years had passed before summons were issued and that the claim had therefore prescribed. The plaintiff, however, explained that he had relied on the RAF to process his matter and that, only once it became apparent that no progress was being made, did he terminate the RAF’s mandate in 2022 and appoint attorneys. By that stage, the RAF had allowed almost the entire five-year period to lapse without finalising the claim or alerting the plaintiff to the impending risk of prescription.
The court found that, through its internal claims systems, the RAF effectively acted as the plaintiff's legal representative and was accordingly under a duty to manage the claim properly. The RAF's argument that the claim had prescribed while in the hands of the plaintiff's newly appointed attorneys did not persuade the court. It would be unfair, the court held, to expect the plaintiff’s attorneys to act with undue haste within a significantly shortened period when the Road Accident Fund Act affords a claimant five years within which to institute a claim.
The court ultimately ruled that the claim had not prescribed. The special plea was accordingly dismissed, and the RAF was ordered to pay the plaintiff’s costs. The judgment serves as a further reminder that the RAF cannot benefit from delays of its own making, particularly where it has failed to explain prolonged delays in the finalisation of a claimant’s matter.
