Between 2018 and 2025, the Legal Practitioners’ Fidelity Fund disbarred 57 lawyers who were deemed to have engaged in misconduct.
This emerged as the fund released a list of the attorneys who were found on the wrong side of the law.
According to the fund, the purpose of the list is to protect the public from dishonest lawyers and to preserve transparency.
“The legal profession is built on trust, and when this trust is broken, it not only harms clients but also damages the integrity of the justice system.
“By shedding light on these cases, we aim to inform the public, prevent further misconduct, and encourage accountability within the legal sector,” said the fund.
Even though the fund only disclosed the lawyers’ surnames, it was revealed that the attorneys stole millions of rands from various agencies and clients.
Some of these attorneys from around the country have been arrested, sentenced, and imprisoned, while others were fined and are paying back the money they defrauded in instalments.
Punished for their sins
Stokes I, from KwaZulu-Natal, was found guilty of theft amounting to R5-million. He was sentenced in 2017 to 12 years imprisonment, of which six years were suspended for five years on condition that he is not found guilty of theft committed during the period of suspension.
He will serve ix years in jail. A leave to appeal against both the conviction and sentence was denied.
Additionally, an Eastern Cape attorney, Sandile Majavu, was convicted for stealing R1.8-million from his clients. He was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment.
Majavu admitted to having used funds deposited by prospective property buyers into two trust accounts he held for personal benefit.
He lured a victim into purchasing a house, where the victim paid R1.1-million into his trust account.
Labuschagne FJ, from KwaZulu-Natal, pleaded guilty to theft of trust funds in 2018. He was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment wholly suspended for five years on condition that he does not commit fraud or theft during the period of the suspension and on condition that he pays R400 000 to a complainant named Mrs Zwane and R1.6-million to the fund.
Payments to Zwane were to be made by way of monthly instalments of R25 000 with effect from 2019.
Labuschagne was expected to start repaying the fund once he had finished paying Zwane.
Theft of trust funds
Terblanche B, whose province was not revealed, pleaded guilty to theft of trust funds in the amount of R3.3-million.
He was sentenced to two years of correctional supervision. No compensation order was granted.
Malatji NP, from Limpopo, was convicted of theft of trust funds amounting to R360 000. He was sentenced in November 2024.
Malatji was sentenced to eight years imprisonment wholly suspended for five years on condition that he is not found guilty of an offence of which dishonesty is an element during the period of suspension.
He was also ordered to pay the fund R360 000 by way of monthly instalments of R10 000 with effect from December 2024 and thereafter on or before the last day of each subsequent month until the amount is paid in full.
All payments are made to the clerk of the magistrates court in Tzaneen.
Sechele NK, from Gauteng, pleaded guilty to 18 counts of theft amounting to R2.5-million. He was sentenced to six years imprisonment wholly suspended for five years on the condition that he is not found guilty of theft or fraud committed during the period of the suspension.
Confiscation order
The AFU (asset forfeiture unit) also successfully applied for a confiscation order against Sechele in terms of which his immovable property would be sold. The fund will receive the proceeds of the sale of the said property.
From the North West, Venter F entered a guilty plea to the charge of stealing R1.6-million in trust funds.
She received a seven-year prison term that was suspended for five years, provided that he is not found guilty of stealing or committing fraud during that time.
Venter was also given a three-year correctional monitoring sentence under Criminal Procedure Act Section 276(1)(h). No order for compensation was issued.
Essop and Limalia, two Gauteng-based attorneys, were both convicted of stealing R1.8-million in trust funds.
They received nine years in jail, with four of those years suspended if they were found not guilty of theft during their imprisonment.
