Convict in charge of Free State education’s legal services

As the spotlight falls on the state of the nation’s education systems, amid a return to school and the release of matric results this week, one of the country’s best-performing provinces’ has a legal boss with a criminal past.

Bafana Cecil Ngwenya, who was labelled as “unfit” by the high court and denied admission as an advocate, remains head of legal services at the Free State Department of Education.

An insider says despite his criminal record, Ngwenya managed to clinch the post under questionable circumstances during the late Tate Makgoe’s tenure as MEC. Makalo Mohale took over as education MEC last year.

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Ngwenya was described by the South Gauteng High Court as “not fit and proper” after he took two bar councils to court for refusing to admit him as an advocate.

The insider says Ngwenya did not meet the requirements for the post, which also requires one to be an advocate or an admitted attorney.

“I first met him in 2015, when he was acting as head of legal services. Under him, the department loses even the simplest cases, an indication that there are problems at the top.

“I wrote to the Presidency about his irregular appointment, but they referred me back to the national department, which also didn’t seem concerned at all.

“He is a convict. His application to become an advocate was dismissed by Pretoria High Court, he does not qualify to be a director of the legal services,” said a Free State education activist whose name is known to The Citizen but preferred to remain anonymous.

Department, Presidency pass the buck

In one email correspondence, Refilwe Makgopa at the Presidency forwarded the activist’s complaint to the national Department of Basic Education to follow up.

But Nkosana Thakgedi, an official in the department’s governance and management unit replied to Makgopa that her email was “misdirected” and should be sent to labour relations.

“It has been a back and forth in emails between the three departments, no one seems interested in looking into Ngwenya’s appointment,” he said.

For weeks, The Citizen sought comment from Howard Ndaba, the Free State education spokesperson and Premier Mxolisi Dukwana’s spokesperson Sello Dithebe.

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Dithebe requested that the questions be emailed to both of them, but none has replied to date.

Prison sentence

Ngwenya was convicted in Bethlehem on two counts of theft, each involving an amount of R500 and one count of defeating the ends of justice in 2000.

This happened when he was an acting prosecutor at the Tseke Magistrate’s Court, situated outside of Harrismith.

He was sentenced to two years for theft and one for defeating the ends of justice. He served 10 months and was released under correctional supervision.

‘Not fit and proper’

Court documents show that Ngwenya’s quest to be admitted as an advocate first fell through in 2005 before Judge Ivor Schwartzman in the South Gauteng High Court.

Having claimed that he was wrongfully convicted and was therefore fit to be admitted as an advocate, Schwartzman dismissed Ngwenya’s appeal against the Johannesburg and Pretoria bar councils.

“What this assertion means is that the Applicant cannot claim to have reformed because he has not come to terms with the character defect that led to his convictions.

“This means that his statement that he was wrongfully convicted is untrue, which means that the Applicant is not a fit and proper person to be admitted as an advocate.

“Having made these findings, no purpose will be served by dealing with the Applicant’s factual submissions that in all three instances, he was wrongfully convicted.

“A person wanting to be admitted as an advocate must inter alia satisfy the court that he or she is a fit and proper person to be admitted.

“The Applicant’s application to be admitted as an advocate is dismissed”.

After finishing community service, Ngwenya returned to Fort Hare University to upgrade his B-Juris degree to an LLB to qualify to apply for admission as an advocate.

He was awarded the LLB degree and in January 2005, he was admitted to pupilage at the Johannesburg Bar.

However, both the Gauteng-based bar councils turned down his application to be an admitted advocate, citing his criminal convictions.

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