Letsoalo's bid for reinstatement at Road Accident Fund rejected by court
Suspended Road Accident Fund CEO Collins Letsoalo lost his legal bid for leave to appeal against his suspension.
Image: Sapa
The court denied suspended Road Accident Fund CEO Collins Letsoalo's application for leave to appeal his failed reinstatement bid on Friday.
Letsoalo argued that his reinstatement was crucial as he claimed he was promised a second term, but the board denied this. His fixed-term contract expires on Wednesday, and he had sought to lift his suspension based on the belief that he would be reappointed.
Letsoalo had applied for leave to appeal against the judgment issued by the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria at the end of June, in which it turned down his bid for his suspension to be lifted. In a scathing judgment at the time, Judge Nasious Moshoana said Letsoalo's application was deemed vexatious.
He found Letsoalo’s suspension effected by the RAF board earlier to be lawful, rational, and reasonable. In his leave to appeal, Letsoalo at length stated that Judge Moshoanathe was from the start biased and against him, which he claimed was clearly visible in the body language of the judge.
He also cited 38 points which he claimed the judge erred in his judgment. Letsoalo, in his leave to appeal, said he wanted to turn to the Supreme Court of Appeal, which he said without doubt would rule in his favour.
But time has run out for him as by Wednesday, he will no longer head the RAF - a point taken by Judge Moshoana, who said the appeal will then be moot. This was, however, denied by Letsoalo’s counsel during arguments.
The judge said accepting that the rights which Letsoalo is seeking to protect and enforce are contractual in nature, once the contract expires, those rights would be unenforceable in law. The judge added that even if the appeal succeeds, the relief Letsoalo is seeking will not yield practical results to him.
“He cannot be returned to his position, in the circumstances where his employment contract had expired. Interdicting the alleged advertisement of the position in order to protect his alleged re-appointment by the disestablished board will not yield any practical results for him".
In addressing the 38 points in which Letsoalo claimed errors were made, Judge Moshoana commented that all Letsoalo did was to try and reargue the matter. Not one of these points holds any water, he found.
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