The courts will not hesitate to protect the most vulnerable against legal practitioners who may regard themselves as above the law.
The striking off the roll of attorneys Zuko Nonxuba and Heinrich Francisco Gonzales goes a long way in restoring the public trust the legal fraternity should always enjoy.
It’s a significant statement that courts will not hesitate to protect the most vulnerable against legal practitioners who may regard themselves as above the law.
More than anything, the striking orders against the two assure victims that there is a place they can turn to when confronted with situations similar to the cases we have cited in this editorial.
Our news pages have aptly highlighted the impact of such actions, especially in Road Accident Fund matters where claimants are only given a small portion of the millions due to them.
In the worst scenarios, they are left to languish in poverty while their legal representatives live a high life.
Nonxuba, a prominent Eastern Cape attorney found himself in hot water with the Legal Practice Council (LPC) over allegations that he misappropriated hundreds of millions of rand due to his former clients, mostly minor children related to medical negligence cases in the Eastern Cape.
This week the Western Cape High Court barred Gonzales from practising as an attorney. He had allegedly not only misappropriated thousands of trust monies belonging to his clients but also attempted to mislead the LPC and the court to evade responsibility.
The two cases strike at the core of the adage that justice must not only be done, but must be seen to be done.
It is the few rotten apples that compromise the quality of the entire bag. No one knows this better than our police service.
That is why the LPC, while at times not acting quickly, should be commended for ensuring that these two legal practitioners account for the alleged misconduct. It should however not stop here.
The National Prosecuting Authority should be readying itself to establish whether there are grounds to criminally charge the practitioners.
Western Cape Judge Matthew Francis hits the nail on the head in saying: “An officer of the court whose integrity is severely compromised has no place in the legal profession.”
Cape Times