Johannesburg – A 50-year-old man, Ntate Manoel Mabesa, who pretended to be an advocate, was sentenced to an effective 10 years imprisonment by the Bloemfontein Regional Court.
Mabesa was convicted on five counts of fraud, uttering and contravention of Section 9 of the Justice of the Peace of Commissioner of Oath Act for crimes he committed between 08 March 2012 and 27 June 2014.
Magistrate Marina Voges sentenced Mabesa to 10 years imprisonment for five counts of fraud and uttering. The counts were taken together for the purpose of sentencing. Mabesa was further sentenced to two years direct imprisonment for Contravention of Section 9 of the Justice of the Peace of Commissioner of Oath Act.
On 8 March 2012 Mabesa made an application at the High Court of South Africa: Free State Division for an admission as an advocate of the High Court.
The application was supported by Mabesa’s affidavit together with the copy of a certificate for LLB degree purported to have been issued by the University of the Free State.
He falsely stated to the Registrar of the High Court that he obtained an LLB degree on 30 March 2007.
He took money from people who needed legal representation and told them that he would represent them in court.
He represented clients in bail applications and he was busy with two trials when it was picked up that he was not legally qualified.
Advocate Johan Swanepoel from the Specialised Commercial Crime Unit (SCCU) represented the state in a case where Mabesa was representing the accused.
Swanepoel realised that Mabesa was doing his work in an unusual way and he was not addressing the court in a proper manner. A formal charge was laid against Mabesa and the subsequent investigation revealed that he was not legally qualified. A representative of the university also confirmed that Mabesa was never enrolled for a degree at their institution.
Addressing the court, the prosecutor, Advocate Ellen Simpon, requested the court to impose a direct imprisonment because he did not only defraud people who were in need of legal representation but he also defrauded the high court and the university.
“The accused took money from people who needed legal assistance, pretending that he is qualified to represent them when that was not the case. He would have continued with his actions if he was not found out. His actions eroded the integrity of the justice system because he was not an advocate of the high court”, said Simpson.
Mabesa will serve an effective term of 10 years imprisonment after the magistrate ordered the sentences to run concurrently.
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