Malesela Teffo’s assault, fraud case postponed to November

The case against Malesela Teffo, who was recently struck from the Roll of Legal Practitioners, has postponed to 3 November.

Teffo, who is currently out on R10 000 bail, made a brief appearance in the Johannesburg Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.

He is facing charges of assault, fraud, corruption and trespassing, among others.

According to reports, the case was postponed in order for Teffo to make representations since the former advocate does not have knowledge of the charges against him.

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Teffo was famously arrested during the murder trial of former Bafana Bafana captain Senzo Meyiwa on 28 April, after a warrant of arrest was issued.

The police said, at the time, that Teffo was arrested because he failed to appear in court on several occasions.

He was previously arrested by police on charges of common assault and trespassing after allegedly assaulting a female officer member and entering the South African Police Service (Saps) Gauteng provincial building, in contravention of a high court interdict prohibiting him from entering the premises.

In July, Teffo withdrew from defending four of the suspects accused of killing Meyiwa in 2014.

Disbarment

Earlier this month, Teffo was barred from the roll of advocates, following an application by the Legal Practice Council (LPC).

The Pretoria High Court had found Teffo accepted money from clients without a brief from an attorney, an act which is not allowed.

The court also found he had misled it in different cases where he appeared as counsel.

READ MORE: Exclusive: ‘Advocate Teffo conned me out of R5 500,’ claims furious client

Teffo has since filed a rescission application to set aside the court’s judgment, News24 has reported.

In a rescission application, Teffo will have to prove the judgment was erroneously granted in his absence and there was a patent error or omission in the granting of the judgment.

The LPC had filed a motion last year, after it received just over 20 complaints, dating back from 2015, against Teffo, who admitted as an advocate in 2009.

Teffo previously claimed that his disbarment may lead to unrest.