State prosecutor Zandile Mahlalela requested that Magistrate Jacob Mamabolo grant the state’s request for a warrant of arrest after suspended attorney Zietta Janse van Rensburg did not pitch at court this morning.

She is charged with fraud, forgery, and uttering, which stem from a settlement agreement between two parties, of which Janse van Rensburg represented one. The agreement was allegedly fraudulent.

The court’s language practitioner called for Janse van Rensburg three times outside court after the state prosecutor first called her and she was not in attendance.

This is not the first time she did not attend a hearing. In this specific case, she missed her first appearance on July 17 and claimed that she was a witness in a case heard in Mookgophong (formerly Naboomspruit).

On July 24, Janse van Rensburg attended the hearing but could not provide sufficient proof for her absence on July 17. She only issued the court with proof for July 15 and 16.

The hearing was then postponed to today (August 5).

Court personnel appeared upset before the proceedings started and could be heard discussing Janse van Rensburg’s defiance of the court and its proceedings.

Her disciplinary procedure at the Legal Practice Council (LPC) started last week. Lowvelder has sent questions on the matter to the LPC.