More than 20 victims who were duped out of millions by a now disbarred Gauteng lawyer, Nonhle Nkomonde, are now pinning their hopes on a lawyers' fund set up to protect the public against loss of money.
The Legal Practitioners Fidelity Fund's (LPFF) function is to reimburse clients of lawyers who suffer loss due to theft of money or property entrusted to the attorney.
According to LPFF, 13 people have come forward to claim more than R4.4m that Nkomonde allegedly owes them.
On Tuesday, the Pretoria high court banned Nkomonde, 34, from practising law following 29 complaints related to the mismanagement of deceased estates and illegal sale of properties she sold on behalf of her clients.
Her alleged victims had lodged complaints with the Legal Practice Council (LPC), which in May had her suspended by the court for misconduct.
LPC spokesperson Kabelo Letebele told Sowetan that the LPFF is the last resort the victims can exhaust to try recover their money.
“One of the requirements applicable to the lodged claim is that the legal practitioner concerned must have had a valid Fidelity Fund Certificate. This certificate permits a legal practitioner to hold in trust funds or property belonging to another person, including funds paid into the trust account of the firm.
One of the requirements applicable to the lodged claim is that the legal practitioner concerned must have had a valid Fidelity Fund Certificate.
— LPC spokesperson Kabelo Letebele
“The certificate also enables the client/s of a legal practitioner to lodge a claim with the LPFF for reimbursement where the client of a legal practitioner suffered pecuniary loss,” he said.
According to Letebele, 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.
One of her victims, Dimakatso Dialemetsi from Alexandra, has had to move to her parents' house after Nkomonde allegedly sold her house in Braamfischerville, Soweto, for R350,000 in 2022 but failed to hand over the money to her.
She told Sowetan that she has started the process to claim her money with the LPFF.
“It was a bit of a hassle to get a lawyer because I initially went to the LPC when everything blew up and they told me I’d need to get a lawyer to represent [me]. It took some time to get one because they all wanted huge amounts of money, but I kept looking and eventually I found one.
“With the way it’s going, I’m hoping that by the end of the year I do have my money,” she said.
Nkomonde has joined more than 20 other legal practitioners in the country who have been struck from the roll since January, while 38 others have been suspended. The LPC, which monitors and regulates the conduct of legal practitioners, said it received 14,994 complaints about practitioners last year.
Another victim, 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.
She said being in the wheelchair makes it hard for her to start the process of claiming her money back.
“I am happy, but the house is still not in my name [so] I have to organise transport [to take] me to the LPC office because I can't walk. I am very pleased that she won't practice again because she really hurt me,” she said.
Mavuka said justice for her would be seeing Nkomonde facing prosecution.
Nthabiseng Dubazana, legal commentator and owner of Dubazana Attorneys, said clients can recoup their money if they can prove theft by a lawyer.
“Say it was part of RAF [Road Accident Fund] money paid into her trust account – and they have documentation, which they usually do, then they can show that the money was indeed paid from the RAF and that they’re entitled to a specific amount. With that proof and the fact that she’s been struck off the roll, there’s more than enough evidence to pursue civil litigation,” she said.
In the Nkomonde matter, the court ruled that LPC's director in Gauteng, Ignatius Briel, will be the curator who is going to take over her trust accounts, including accounts relating to insolvent and deceased estates, business accounts and files belonging to her clients.
LPFF spokesperson Bonfils Barandereka said the fund is yet to receive Nkomonde's trust statements.
Nkomonde has two weeks to hand over her practice certificate to the high court.
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