The bogus lawyer's modus operandi was to demand upfront payments for legal services that he never provided.
A bogus lawyer will feel the full might of the law after he was sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment by the Rustenburg Magistrate’s Court on Monday.
The court found 45-year-old Kagiso Josias Selomane from Rustenburg guilty of nine counts of fraud for posing as a lawyer.
Selomane’s sentence
He was handed down more than 50 years for his crimes, but Magistrate Samuel Mabogo ordered that some of them be served concurrently, reducing his time in jail to 20 years.
Selomane was sentenced for nine counts of fraud as follows:
- Count 1: 12 years’ imprisonment
- Count 2 and 3: 10 years each
- Count 4 and 6: four years each
- Count 5, 7 and 8: three years each
- Count 9: five years
He was also declared unfit to possess a firearm.
More than R1 million siphoned off
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regional spokesperson Sivenathi Gunya said Selomane’s illegal activities date back to a period between 2011 and 2015, when he masqueraded as a legal practitioner in courts across the North West province and in Johannesburg, Gauteng.
He misled victims into believing that he was a qualified lawyer who could represent them in divorce and labour matters, and even pretended to be an executor of a major bank.
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“His modus operandi was to demand upfront payments for legal services that he never provided,” Gunya said in a statement.
“In some cases, he duped clients into sitting in empty courtrooms, claiming their cases had been postponed, while in reality, no proceedings had been scheduled.”
Gunya said over the four years, Selomane syphoned off more than R1 million from unsuspecting victims.
Arrest and trial
The bogus lawyer was arrested on 20 October 2015 after some victims reported him to the police.
Although he initially pleaded guilty to only four counts of fraud, State Advocate Rodger Mareume argued that his guilty plea was not genuine, pointing out that he showed no remorse and failed to repay the victims, Gunya said.
During sentencing, Mabogo highlighted that the crimes were premeditated and executed over several years.
He noted that Selomane had previous fraud convictions dating back to 2017.
Director of Public Prosecutions in the North West, Dr Rachel Makhari said: “These sentences underscore the NPA’s commitment to combating bogus legal practitioners and protecting both the integrity of the legal profession and the public.”
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