LAW SOCIETY DISCIPLINARY TRIBUNAL REVEALS: 24 LAWYERS FACE SERIOUS MISCONDUCT CHARGES

MBABANE - The legal profession in Eswatini is faced with a disconcerting surge of acts of misconduct by lawyers.

This was disclosed by the Eswatini Law Society Disciplinary Tribunal, which further highlighted that it is inundated with a growing number of lawyers facing disciplinary action for misconduct. It has been gathered that a total of 24 serious cases of professional misconduct, some bordering on the misappropriation of trust funds and theft of clients’ monies, are pending before the tribunal. The tribunal highlighted that theft of funds by lawyers is a very serious offence and has far-reaching consequences, not only for the lawyers concerned, but for the profession as a whole.

“A legal practioner who dishonestly misappropriates trust funds is not a fit and proper person to continue practising as an attorney and deserves the ultimate sanction of being struck off the roll of attorneys in the Kingdom of Eswatini,” said the tribunal. It further stated that there is a need for it to protect members of the public. The tribunal stated that an attorney is required to be of complete honesty, reliability and integrity. It pointed out that the need to exhibit honesty applies both in relation to the duty to their clients, as well as to the tribunal.

Stolen

The cases involve senior and junior attorneys, who are said to have stolen millions of Emalangeni belonging to clients. Notably, most of the monies that were purportedly siphoned by the learned friends involved estate monies, causing some of the beneficiaries to be beggars.  The tribunal noted that the nature of the misconduct has become more and more brazen and this is exacerbated by the absence of any contrition on the part of the wrongdoers. This publication has noted the growing trend of accused persons who lodge complaints with judicial officers when they appear in court.

They complain about attorneys’ unprofessionalism in that some of them do not attend their clients’ matters in court, despite being paid to do so.This publication has so far collected eight cases in which accused persons have gone as far as reporting their legal representatives to magistrates. A recent case is that of Sanele Dlamini, who appeared at Manzini Magistrates Court for an assault charge. He elected to hire an attorney, who, however, did not show up in court.Dlamini informed the court that his lawyer had promised to be in court that day. He said he was surprised that his lawyer was absent and the matter was postponed. A small business operator of Manzini said he engaged an attorney to draft a contract for a new supplier in 2010. He said he paid the attorney upfront, but he failed to deliver.

Disbarred

The businessman stated that he eventually learnt from a colleague that the attorney had been disbarred due to previous misconduct. In yet another incident, *Thandiwe of Manzini, said she hired an attorney to assist her in a custody battle for her children after a painful divorce. Desperate to ensure a stable environment for her children, she paid the attorney a E3 000 retainer. As the case dragged on, Thandiwe noticed her attorney rarely attended court hearings. Also, a retired civil servant sought legal advice regarding his pension and retirement benefits. After hearing good things about a local attorney, he shared that he paid for consultation and subsequent legal services. Months passed with little progress, and when he finally requested an update, he discovered that his attorney had not even submitted the necessary paperwork to the relevant authorities.

Frustrated, he mentioned that he attempted to resolve the issue himself, only to find that he was facing additional legal hurdles, due to the attorney’s negligence. The tribunal recently concluded the matter of lawyer Innocent Motsa, who is currently an acting magistrate, who was found guilty of professional misconduct. He was found to have misappropriated monies belonging to his clients and the tribunal recommended that he should be struck off the roll as, due to his behaviour, he is not fit and proper to practise as an attorney.  

Plagued

According to the tribunal, this matter is a classic example of this type of incessant conduct that has plagued ‘our noble profession’. The tribunal is led by senior lawyers Zweli Jele and members are Musa Sibandze, Lucky Howe, Nhlanhla Ginindza, Lucky Manyatsi and Sinethemba Khumalo. In its ruling in Motsa’s matter, the tribunal stated that an attorney is required to be of complete honesty, reliability and integrity. It found that the need to exhibit honesty applies both in relation to the duty of their clients as well as the tribunal. It concluded that Motsa failed dismally in this regard and it had no hesitation in recommending that he be censured.

Motsa is among, other things, said to have sold a property without the consent of beneficiaries of an estate belonging to a Mpapane family. In its ruling, the tribunal said its attention was also drawn to two other matters that pertain to Motsa and are currently serving before it. In these matters, the respondent (Motsa), according to the tribunal, admitted having misappropriated monies belonging to clients. In those matters, the tribunal accorded him the opportunity of settling his liability, before dealing with the issue of misconduct. He reportedly failed to settle both matters. The tribunal said, given the fact that he already admitted the wrongdoing, it considered it appropriate to take those matters into consideration when recommending a sanction for the present matter.   
*Not real name.

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