By Staff Reporter
PRETORIA — A man’s attempt to claim compensation from the Road Accident Fund (RAF) has failed after the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria ruled that the injuries he sustained did not result from a hit-and-run accident, but from a fight in which a vehicle was deliberately used as a weapon.
The incident took place in the early hours of 1 January 2019 at Fish Point Tavern in Vleifontein, outside Makhado. According to the court, Oscar Mashengani was struck by a vehicle driven by Tendani Edwin Ramunenyiwa following an argument that escalated into a physical confrontation.
The altercation began after the tavern owner switched off the music and asked patrons to leave. Mashengani requested a bucket to carry the remaining alcohol he and his friends had purchased — a request the owner agreed to. However, Ramunenyiwa objected, leading to an argument and eventually a fight.
After bystanders separated them, Ramunenyiwa went to his car and drove it toward Mashengani and his friends, hitting Mashengani. Witness statements indicate that Ramunenyiwa allegedly attempted to drive into him a second time, but people at the scene intervened.
Mashengani was taken to the Vleifontein Clinic for treatment, and an attempted murder case was opened against Ramunenyiwa. In his police statement, Mashengani admitted that he had slapped Ramunenyiwa during the fight shortly before he was struck by the vehicle.
However, when filing his RAF claim, Mashengani omitted any reference to the fight. Instead, he stated that he had been walking on the side of the road when a vehicle hit him from behind in what he described as a hit-and-run incident.
In court, his version shifted again. Mashengani testified as a single witness and admitted he had been involved in a dispute over a bucket. He also told the court that he had been drinking from midday until the early hours, though he denied being under the influence at the time of the incident.
Judge Graham Nasious Moshoana found Mashengani’s evidence unreliable and inconsistent with his earlier police statement as well as statements made by his own friends.
“This court is not satisfied with the credibility of the plaintiff’s evidence,” Judge Moshoana said, noting contradictions between Mashengani’s testimony, his sworn affidavits, and the accounts of his companions.
The court concluded that the driver deliberately used the car as a weapon during the altercation, which placed the incident outside the scope of RAF compensation. Under the law, the RAF compensates victims of motor-vehicle accidents caused by negligent driving — not intentional acts meant to cause harm.
According to Judge Moshoana, the existence of an attempted murder case affirmed that the driver’s intention was to harm Mashengani, not that he negligently caused a road accident.
Mashengani therefore failed to prove negligence on the part of the driver, and his RAF claim was dismissed.
