Fidelity Fund senior legal adviser John Ndlovu believes heavy prison sentences and the forfeiting of assets should be the only way to deal with lawyers who steal from their clients using bankruptcy as a justification.

Ndlovu spoke to The Sunday Independent amid a rising number of lawyers who are on the Legal Practice Council’s list of offenders as either suspended or struck off the roll.

Ndlovu said it was common that when the lawyers were put on trial, they defended themselves by saying their practices did not generate enough money to pay rent and staff salaries.

‘The only way to discourage them from doing that is to take a decisive action by imposing heavy sentences when they are convicted and also attach whatever properties they may be owning,’ Ndlovu said.

He added the errant lawyers had brought disrepute to the legal profession, which should uphold a high standard of honesty and truthfulness.

Advocate Enock Felani Manana was recently struck off the roll for the theft of R75 000 from a client, notes The Sunday Independent.

He had previously survived an allegation of corruption where he was accused of stealing millions of rands from scores of clients.

Also recently barred from practising was Advocate Malesela Teffo, who represented four out of five accused in the trial concerning soccer star Senzo Meyiwa’s murder.

Meanwhile, Robinson Manzi, who escaped a life sentence for rape because of compelling circumstances such as that there was ‘no serious physical or psychological damage’ suffered by his victim, was granted the right to return to practise in 2019.

This was 10 years after he had been released on parole after serving a jail term for raping a daughter (14) of a client. Manzi is now running a practice, Robinson Manzi & Company Attorneys, in KZN. When asked about reinstating expelled lawyers, Ndlovu said unfortunately the Legal Practice Act made a provision for such lawyers to apply for readmission.

‘They have to comply with the readmission requirement and then the court would look to whether they qualify or not. But the main criteria would be whether they are fit to practice law again and that determination is made by the court looking at the various aspect of the application. But that doesn’t mean that once an attorney has been struck off and readmitted then he won’t misconduct himself again because they are some of the attorneys who have been struck off twice or more after they have been readmitted. It is really a difficult situation,’ Ndlovu said.

Full report in The Sunday Independent