Former KZN attorney sentenced to 10 years in jail for fraud

A 52-year-old former KwaZulu-Natal attorney has been sentenced to 10 years in jail for fraud.

Langelihle Dube appeared in the Durban Specialised Commercial Crime Court where sentenced was handed down.

In 2015, Dube was practising as an attorney when a client deposited R1.7 million into his trust account.

The money was for the transfer of property, however Dube failed to transfer the property and used the money for personal use.

Arrest

Hawks spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Simphiwe Mhlongo said a case of fraud was reported at Durban Central Police Station.

“The case docket was allocated to the Hawks members from Durban Serious Commercial Crime Investigation for intensive investigation. He was arrested in 2017 and was granted bail. Dube appeared in court several times until he was found guilty and sentenced to 10 years direct imprisonment.      

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Hijacked building

Meanwhile, two people were arrested in connection with a building in Hillbrow that was hijacked by four individuals and illegally kept for more than 20 years.

The suspects were handcuffed during an operation led by the City of Johannesburg’s Group Forensic and Investigation Services Unit (GFIS) – a newly launched JMPD Tactical Reaction Unit, police and other agencies.

The group conducted a joint operation to successfully recover the hijacked Claridge Court building at the corner of Wolmaraans and Leyds streets in Hillbrow on Friday.

Johannesburg Public Safety MMC Mgcini Tshwaku said the rest of the hijackers fled the scene when confronted by the law enforcement agencies.

Tshwaku called the recovery of the building a landmark victory in the war against hijacked buildings and a step in the right direction towards reclaiming the inner city from “lawlessness and the criminality of hijacking buildings”.

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