Thembisa Lawana Dakuse, 38, from the Eastern Cape was sentenced to five years in prison for defrauding the Road Accident Fund of over R700,000.
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A 38-year-old woman from the Eastern Cape, Thembisa Lawana Dakuse, has been sentenced to five years in prison for defrauding the Road Accident Fund (RAF) of over R700,000.
She was found guilty of submitting a fraudulent claim after a 2018 motor vehicle accident in Gqeberha, where she initially claimed to have been a pedestrian.
Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, known as the Hawks, spokesperson Warrant Officer Ndiphiwe Mhlakuvana said Dakuse was sentenced by the Cradock Regional Court on April 4, 2025.
Dakuse was arrested by the Gqeberha Hawks' Serious Corruption Investigation (SCI) unit in 2022 and appeared in court on the same day. She was later released on bail.
According to Mhlakuvana, Dakuse was involved in a motor vehicle accident in February 2018 on Umnulu Street, Motherwell, where she sustained injuries.
She later lodged a claim with the RAF and was compensated for her injuries.
However, Dakuse later submitted a second claim, falsely stating that she was a pedestrian at the time of the accident and was coming home from work.
“Dakuse further indicated that she was earning R93 a day from her employer as reports indicate that she was unemployed,” Mhlakuvana said.
“Therefore, due to the injuries sustained, she was unable to continue with her work duties and could not be employable again.”
Mhlakuvana explained that the RAF flagged the discrepancies in the second claim, prompting a deeper investigation.
“Consequently, RAF picked up 'red flags' from the additional claim lodged by Dakuse and it was rejected, Hawks were activated for thorough probing.”
Investigations by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) confirmed that Dakuse's misrepresentation nearly resulted in a loss of over R700,000 for the RAF.
Dakuse made several court appearances before her sentencing by the Cradock Regional Court on April 4, 2025.
She was sentenced to two years in prison, with the sentence suspended for five years, Mhlakuvana said.
simon.majadibodu@iol.co.za
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