Road Accident Fund (RAF) CEO Collins Letsoalo wants the Pretoria high court to interdict the fund from advertising his position pending the “finalisation of the process to reappoint” him as the CEO for a second five-year term.
Letsoalo was placed on special leave by the RAF board in May pending a Special Investigating Unit (SIU) inquiry into multimillion-rand contracts and tenders at the fund.
The board withdrew the special leave placement and suspended Letsoalo on June 3 for not appearing before parliament’s standing committee on public accounts (Scopa) on May 28.
Letsoalo initiated the urgent application against the board’s decision to suspend him and wants the court to it set aside and resume his duties. He also wants the court to halt adverts for the CEO post as his term comes to an end on August 6.
“The purpose of this application is to seek relief in following terms; to interdict and restrain the respondents [RAF and RAF board] from advertising the position of CEO pending the finalisation of the process to reappoint me as the CEO.
“The board has resolved to renew my fixed contract of employment, which expires August 6,” Letsoalo said.
This is a claim the board has denied. The case will be heard today at the Pretoria high court.
Letsoalo argued that he learnt about his suspension through television when watching parliament proceedings.
“I see the suspension flowing directly from special leave and it is one continuous unlawful, irrational and unreasonable conduct on behalf of the board, and in the process the board continues to damage my reputation and integrity.”
Arguing urgency, Letsoalo said he was in a race against time and that without intervention he would miss out on the top position.
“If this application is to be adjudicated in the normal course in this division, it would take months before it is heard and at that time my employment contract, which is expiring on August 6, would have long expired and my reappointment receiving concurrence from the minister of transport and approval by the cabinet would, in all probability, not happen.”
He told the court the suspension placed him and his family at risk.
“There have been threats made to my life during the course of my employment as RAF CEO. The threats came from various sectors, chief among them being from the taxi industry.”
In court papers, RAF board chair Zanele Francois dismissed the claim the board favoured Letsoalo’s reappointment.
“These allegations are not true. There was no decision to reappoint the applicant,” Francois argued.
“The allegation that there was a decision by the board to reappoint him is incorrect and misleading to this honourable court. The board did not make a decision to reappoint the applicant. In fact, it does not have the power to make a decision reappointing the applicant.”
Francois further accused Letsoalo of omitting information from the fund’s presentation that was going to be presented in parliament in May.
“The initial presentation reflected that, ‘the current RAF corporate legal panel was appointed in December 2023 and has a total of 43 law firms. Only 19 law firms have since been briefed and paid during 2023 and 2024. A total of R76m in 2023 and R104m in 2024.’ The applicant removed in its entirety the aforementioned explanation.”
Francois said Letsoalo’s removal of information amounted to defiance and refusal to disclose information to parliament. The board eventually filed its presentation late to parliament because it had to fix changes.
She told the court Letsoalo was not stripped of his security and vehicles supplied by the fund during suspension.
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