A woman embroiled in a protracted divorce battle has accused a recently appointed judicial officer of unethical conduct, bias and participating in a scheme that has deprived her of her rightful entitlements.
Zodwa Dlamini’s affidavit under oath, dated October 21, 2024, presents a detailed account of her interactions with Judge Richard Bonakele Mkhabela, then an acting judge, who was previously her advocate and later presided over her divorce case as a judge.
She alleges that Mkhabela, during his tenure as her legal counsel in 2019, accepted a cash payment under dubious circumstances and subsequently failed to deliver the promised legal services.
Four months later, despite numerous attempts to follow up, Dlamini received no response or progress updates on her case. The situation escalated when Mkhabela, as an acting judge, issued an interdict order on August 20 last year that Dlamini claims was biased and fraudulent.
The order supposedly favoured her ex-husband, enabling him to hide matrimonial assets and funds offshore, despite a valid high court warrant of attachment in Dlamini’s favour.
Dlamini argues that Mkhabela, aware of the case’s details from his previous role, should have recused himself due to a conflict of interest.
In a complaint to Chief Justice Mandisa Maya, dated October 29 last year and confirmed as received by Maya’s office the following day, Dlamini raised serious questions about judicial accountability and the integrity of the South African legal system.
She said Mkhabela facilitated a fraudulent and unopposed interdict court order against her on August 20, 2024.
Months later, on October 21, she was shocked to discover that the judicial officer, acting judge Mkhabela, was the same advocate who had “taken a brief on the same divorce matters upon experiencing sabotage and compromise of my same matters under his care at the material time”.
“Hence the detrimental court order that he issued, which was partial, biased, and not independent. The acting judge, Mkhabela, was confirmed to me by his secretary, Mrs T Mabona, to be that of my previous advocate, Richard B Mkhabela, having presided on the very same matter.”
Dlamini recounted the ordeal in a series of statements, revealing how she was introduced in February 2019 to Mkhabela through her then-attorney.
“Mkhabela was recommended to me as the one who agreed to take the brief and represent my divorce rescission application before the court,” Dlamini stated.
However, the initial promise soon descended into a financial and legal quagmire. Dlamini alleged that Mkhabela insisted on being paid in cash, a demand she found unsettling.
“He said he did not want to have this money reflected in his accounting books as he needed cash for the weekend,” she recalled. Despite her reservations, Dlamini complied, paying R4 000 upfront for an initial consultation.
Months passed without any progress on her case. “I became very devastated by this unexpected non-delivery and turn of events,” Dlamini said, her frustration evident.
She further alleged that Mkhabela ignored her repeated follow-up attempts.
The situation took a racial turn when her attorney indicated that Mkhabela did not respect the work of black clients. “It was disturbing to hear that unless you were white, he wouldn’t take your brief seriously,” she said, expressing her dismay.
In February 2020, Dlamini confronted Mkhabela at Lembede Tambo Pitje Chambers. She accused him of duping her to “deviously collect money” with no intention of fulfilling his professional obligations.
“I was left vulnerable and prejudiced by Mkhabela’s conduct with a lack of trust thereof,” she lamented.
The case’s complexity grew when Dlamini discovered Mkhabela’s involvement in an urgent application on August 20 2024, concerning the same divorce matter.
She accused him of conflict of interest, saying he should have recused himself due to his prior involvement.
“He failed to be honourable and ethical,” Dlamini stated, alleging that he issued a fraudulent court order to detriment her financial standing.
[COMMENT FROM MAYA AND MKHABELA PENDING]
