However, Viljoen could still not send us the judgment where two judges called her husband 'honest' and 'good-looking'.
Melany Viljoen of Tammy Taylor fame has finally responded to The Citizen’s questions following recent statements on her podcast that her husband, disbarred former attorney, Peet Viljoen, had been considered “the most honest lawyer”, “quite a good-looking lawyer” and one of the greatest attorneys to ever come out of Pretoria.
However, the Legal Practice Council (LPC) holds a contrary view and confirmed that he has been disbarred.
Melany was asked to comment but ignored media questions for weeks, aside from referring to it in her podcast. However, these mentions were riddled with sarcasm and did not answer the questions —something she has now attempted in correspondence with The Citizen.
ALSO READ: Peet Viljoen is not the best attorney to come out of Pretoria, LPC says
Last week, the publication reported Peet started a website offering legal advice at R5 000 per hour and that the Legal Practice Council is investigating him for practising law, although he was disbarred in 2011. The website intro was subsequently changed.
Instead of offering legal services, the website now states: “Peet Viljoen Legal Consultancy operates as a legal brokerage and strategic advisory service — not as a law firm. We are not a substitute for legal representation and do not provide services reserved exclusively for admitted attorneys or advocates under the Legal Practice Act 28 of 2014.
Melany changed website to say they only refer to lawyers in good standing with the LPC…
“Our role is to guide clients through complex legal situations, provide strategic insight and connect them with licensed attorneys in good standing with the Legal Practice Council. We draw from over two decades of high-level legal experience and case strategy to ensure clients receive competent, trusted legal representation tailored to their needs.
“All consultations are provided under consultancy and referral services and any litigation, pleadings, or court appearances are handled by qualified legal practitioners.
“By engaging our services, clients acknowledge that Peet Viljoen Legal Consultancy operates as a legal brokerage and advisory entity, not a law fir, and that all referrals and strategic guidance comply fully with South African law.”
ALSO READ: No, Peet Viljoen of Tammy Taylor fame did not start a bank in SA as he claims
Melany changed Peet’s website, saying he calls himself an attorney
Asked if Peet Viljoen changed the wording because the LPC is now investigating him, Melany Viljoen said she is the one updating the website. “Peet didn’t instruct me to change a thing — I did it myself. There is no investigation by the LPC; let’s not rewrite history.
“The only investigation ever brought against Peet was when the old Law Society tried to disbar him and he defeated them — three separate times. Peet’s legal opinion to himself is that he is still a practising attorney due to the hanging appeal that the Useless LPC can’t (sic) seem to find from the law society.
“Peet will call himself an attorney and SO WILL YOU, until the appeal has been heard. Find the appeal when you find the Law Society. But I assume it’s above your pay grade.”
ALSO READ: Tammy Taylor Global Franchising gets a big hiding in South African high court
No answer from Melany about judgment calling her husband ‘honest’ and ‘good-looking‘
We also asked whether they could forward the judgment in which two judges called Peet Viljoen smart and clever, as we were unable to find it. Viljoen refers to it constantly in their videos, but nobody has seen the judgment.
Instead of forwarding the judgment, Melany said: “As for those default judgments you love quoting as proof of ‘defeat’: they exist because our attorneys (names removed because they did not comment) repeatedly failed to appear in court despite being on retainer.
“Default does not equal defeat. You know that, or at least, you should. Show me one case — just one — where we were present from start to finish and lost. You won’t find it.”
However, the only document she attached was the papers for her motion to disbar her lawyers. Still no judgment that calls her husband “the best attorney, the most honest attorney and I think the strongest attorney ever to come out of Pretoria”, as he says in one of their videos.
ALSO READ: US court rules Viljoens must pay real Tammy Taylor R71 million
Melany calls LPC useless and corrupt
Melany Viljoen then said: “Go ask the LPC why they opposed. Useless and corrupt organisation as I say. With facts in front of them, they can’t investigate, but Peet Viljoen is ‘under investigation’. It’s very admirable.
“And yes, all allegations ever made against Peet were declared null and void by the courts. He didn’t beg for dismissal — a judge ordered it. That restores him to what he always was: a brilliant, formidable attorney, the one media once called’“Lawyer to the Stars’.
“You can read it yourself on SAFLII — if research isn’t too strenuous an exercise. Your commitment to misunderstanding the law is admirable — if not pathological.
“The only reason there was ever a ‘disbarment’ is because Peet wasn’t permitted to present his case — due to the 399 coerced charges that were later thrown out in their entirety. That’s not speculation; it’s record.”
ALSO READ: Hawks investigating Peet and Melany Viljoen for fraud with Tammy Taylor franchises
Melany says nobody is investigating them, but we have proof
Despite what Melany and Peet say in one of their videos (that there is no proof that the Hawks are investigating them and that the LPC is not investigating Peet for practicing as a lawyer while he is disbarred), The Citizen has written correspondence from the Hawks as well as the LPC confirming that these investigations are indeed ongoing.
Meanwhile, in their latest video, Peet again refers to the judges calling him the “most honest lawyer” that South Africa has ever seen and “that as far as South African law goes, I am literally the smartest lawyer they have ever met”.
He also goes into great detail about how he hates black, Indian and Chinese people before he goes into the old, disproved myth of white people arriving in the Cape before black people did.
He uses clips of General Shadrack Sibiya and Judge Ratha Mokgoatlheng, misrepresenting the contents of their statements in formal commissions, to make it appear as though they insult black people — in this case, insinuating and questioning black people’s intelligence.
ALSO READ: Tammy Taylor franchisee who lost R5.8 million speaks out about Peet and Melany Viljoen
Where are the ‘receipts’ that Melany Viljoen promised to bring?
The Viljoens also keep referring to the “receipts” they will bring, possibly meaning they will bring proof of their self-inflating statements. However, they have not submitted any proof of the misdemeanours they accuse others of and they also did not succeed in proving that the two judges had so many flattering things to say about Peet Viljoen.
