A lawyer who allegedly stole from a deceased person's bank account and bought herself eight houses has been suspended from practising.
The high court in Pretoria closed the door on Nonhle Nothando Nkomonde of Alberton, Ekurhuleni, on Tuesday following 29 complaints related to mismanagement of deceased estates and illegal sale of properties she sold on behalf of her clients.
Her clients lodged complaints with the Legal Practice Council (LPC).
Although Nkomonde was not present in court on Tuesday, her legal counsel, Adv Herman Higgins, said even though Nkomonde had earlier this year indicated to the LPC that she would take full responsibility and admit to all the allegations against her, however, she objected to three accusations which were not explained in court.
"My client is a terrible administrator, and this is demonstrated by her inability to respond to the LPC's inquiries when they were asking for her input for the allegations against her. There are 29 complaints against her, and that is indicative of someone in big trouble.
"My client is asking for the permission of this court to make a full disclosure for each allegation against her before this court can make a ruling on LPC's application for a strike off. She agrees for her to be suspended because she has realised that she made a few breaches against the LPC. She just wants her true version of events before this court for this court to decide if her conduct warrants being struck off," said Higgins.
He said that Nkomonde was keen to continue with her legal practice and work with the LPC even beyond the pending being struck off or suspension.
Sowetan first wrote about Nkomonde early this year after several of her clients approached the LPC for relief. In one of the complaints, Nkomonde is accused of misusing more than R2m belonging to the estate of the late Dr David Frank Lubenga, in which she is alleged to have used the money in the deceased's bank account to buy herself eight properties in Soweto and Orange Farm in 2023.
She admitted to buying eight houses with her clients' money because her business was in trouble. Suspending her is justified because the public needs to be protected from her.
— Adv Marie Moolman
In another complaint, Bethusile Mavuka, 61, accused Nkomonde of fraudulently transferring her house in Orlando East, Soweto, in 2023 into her company's name without Mavuka's knowledge. Sowetan has seen the Deeds Office document which shows that the property was sold for R300,000 to Nonhle Nkomonde Attorneys Inc.
There were dozens of complaints of a similar nature.
According to the LPC, Nkomonde, who was only admitted as an attorney in October 2022, was not qualified as a conveyancer to facilitate property transfers and deceased estates and masqueraded as a conveyancer to the detriment of her clients.
Her company also did not have the Fidelity Fund Certificate – a document that verifies that a legal practitioner or property practitioner is registered and can handle funds and property on behalf of clients, and that the fund can reimburse clients whose money has been misappropriated.
Adv Marie Moolman for the LPC told the court that although Nkomonde had admitted to the allegations against her name, she was still a danger to society.
"She admitted to buying eight houses with her clients' money because her business was in trouble. Suspending her is justified because the public needs to be protected from her. By suspending her, a curator would take over her trust account and would be able to pay some of the complainants with money found in her trust," said Moolman.
Judges Soraya Hassim and Graham Moshoana agreed with Moolman and suspended Nkomonde from practising until September 9 when the matter resumes in court.
SowetanLIVE
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.