Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) has officially voted to file criminal charges against former Road Accident Fund (RAF) CEO Collins Letsoalo on Wednesday, 03 June 2026.
The multi-party committee passed the resolution by an 8-to-3 vote after Letsoalo defied a lawful parliamentary summons to account for severe financial misconduct and governance failures at the RAF.
The decision to take a legal against Letsoale comes after he failed to appear before Scopa on 25 and 26 November 2025 despite being legally summoned.
Under Section 17(1) of the Powers, Privileges and Immunities of Parliament Act, ignoring a parliamentary summons without sufficient cause is a criminal offence punishable by a fine and/or up to 12 months in prison.
“Although the committee had already resolved to lay a criminal charge, it nonetheless requested the Speaker’s concurrence to proceed. The Speaker has now responded to the committee saying her concurrence is not required by the Powers, Privileges and Immunities of Parliament and Provincial Legislatures Act (PPIPPLA). She further advised that should the committee still wish to proceed with laying criminal charges, it should request the Secretary to Parliament to lay the charge on its behalf.
“The committee, in light of the Speaker’s letter, resolved once more to proceed and lay criminal charges by a vote of eight in favour and three against,” said Parliamentary Communication Services officer Faith Ndenze.
The African National Congress (ANC) Parliamentary Study Group has announced that it fully supports the Scopa decision to lay criminal charges against Letsoalo.
The party views this as a vital step in maintaining the constitutionally mandated oversight powers of Parliament, emphasizing that public officials cannot arbitrarily evade accountability.
Meanwhile,
“It must be emphasised that public entities are funded by taxpayers, and accounting officers are public trustees. Appearing before Parliament is a non-negotiable statutory duty, not an optional exercise subject to personal convenience or bureaucratic elitism. As the ANC Study Group, we view any defiance of parliamentary processes as an unacceptable assault on the constitutional architecture of our democratic state,” said the party in a statement.
Meanwhile, Action SA welcomed the resolution adopted by Scopa – the decision represents an important affirmation that no public official, regardless of position, is above Parliament or the law.
“ActionSA has consistently argued that Mr Letsoalo’s conduct constituted a direct assault on Parliament’s constitutional oversight responsibilities. Following his refusal to comply with a parliamentary summons in November last year, ActionSA called for his immediate criminal prosecution, warning that failure to act would establish a dangerous precedent whereby senior public officials could simply ignore Parliament without consequence.
“Over the course of SCOPA’s inquiry, committee members have been presented with disturbing evidence relating to governance failures, financial mismanagement, questionable legal strategies, procurement concerns, and the deteriorating financial position of the RAF. What emerged was not merely an institution facing operational challenges, but an organisation that has increasingly lost sight of its core mandate,” said the party MP Alan Beesly.
