Kevin Maluleke was struck off the bar list.
PHOTO: Blanchi Costela/Getty Images
- Limpopo attorney Kevin Maluleke was removed from the attorney list.
- The Limpopo Society of Advocates submitted the application, describing it as “dishonest” and “unfit” to practice.
- Maluleke publicly accused judges of corruption.
Limpopo lawyer Kevin Maluleke, who publicly made serious allegations against some judges, was removed from the list of lawyers.
In the unchallenged delisting application that the Limpopo Society of Advocates filed with the Limpopo High Court in Polokwane, Maluleke was described as “dishonest” and someone “unfit” to practice.
In its files, the association lists a chronology of events that goes back to 2005, when Maluleke signed a traineeship contract with a law firm for the first time.
He terminated the contract for unknown reasons before moving to another law firm on January 17, 2006. In August of that year, his head of law firm instituted disciplinary proceedings against him for theft and intimidation. He was eventually released.
On June 5th, 2007, Maluleke tried to conclude a third traineeship contract with another law firm. During the screening process, however, it was determined that he was “not suitable for starting a career”.
The Law Society of the Northern Provinces then instituted disciplinary proceedings against him based on his past history and he was found guilty of the charges against him in August 2007.
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But that didn’t stop him. Maluleke applied to practice law at the Limpopo High Court in Thohoyandou but remained silent about his previous wrongdoings. He was admitted on December 6, 2007.
In their papers, the Limpopo Society of Advocates argued that Maluleke may have committed perjury by concealing his story.
It submitted:
Had the court in Thohoyandou known the true situation, the court would not have admitted Maluleke as a lawyer, especially considering that the two practitioners already considered Maluleke not a suitable person to be a lawyer, and especially considering the fact that the Northern Province Bar Association had found Maluleke guilty of theft at the time.
In addition, it mentioned complaints from members of the public and “false” public allegations made by Maluleke against Judge Madala Mphahlele and Judge President Ephraim Makgoba, which were eventually dismissed by the Judicial Services Commission (JSC).
Maluleke had also organized a march accusing the judiciary of being corrupt, with “no milligram of evidence of judicial corruption ever being presented”.
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On Tuesday, Judges Natvarlal Ranchod and Brian Mashile ordered Maluleke’s name removed from the list of practicing attorneys under the terms of Section 7 of Act 74 of 1964.
Their justification will be given later.
When asked for comment, Maluleke initially denied having knowledge of the decision.
However, when the order was presented to him, he said it was based on a law that had been repealed. He said he wanted to appeal.
“The whole thing is a joke. That’s short and sweet, and that joke is the subject of an appeal. The Supreme Court of Appeals or the ConCourt will just throw the court order away,” Maluleke said.
