Nonhle Nkomonde, a lawyer who allegedly stole from a deceased person's bank account and bought herself eight houses, will find out on Tuesday if she will continue to practise or be struck off the roll of practitioners.
This comes after the Legal Practitioners Council (LPC) approached the Pretoria high court to have her disbarred, following 29 complaints they received relating to the mismanagement of deceased estates and the illegal sale of properties she sold on behalf of her clients.
Nkomonde is currently on 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.
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.
In May, her lawyer Herman Higgins told the court that even though Nkomonde had earlier indicated to the LPC that she would take full responsibility and admit to all the allegations against her, she however 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.
— lawyer Herman Higgins
“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 at the time.
Higgins said Nkomonde was keen to continue with her legal practice and work with the LPC even beyond the pending being struck off or suspension.
The Pretoria high court is expected to deliberate on her fate on Tuesday.
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