The Legal Practice Council (LPC) will on Friday outline in the Western Cape High Court why it wants suspended attorney Zuko Nonxuba permanently barred from practising.
Nonxuba is alleged to have misappropriated hundreds of millions of rand paid into his trust account that was due to his former clients after successfully litigating against the Department of Health in matters relating to medical malpractice.
Nonxuba was ordered by the courts in all cases where minors were involved to set up trusts on behalf of the claimants in the medical malpractice suits, and to ensure that they received compensation as beneficiaries of the trusts.
The LPC first set its sights on Nonxuba in 2021, after it learnt that in some of the matters in which Nonxuba was ordered by the court to establish trusts, the trusts in question had either not been established or had not received any funds from Nonxuba, to whom the damages awards had been paid.
When Nonxuba could not account for the funds, the LPC approached the court to interdict him from operating on his trust account and for the director of the Gauteng Office of the LPC to be appointed as curator to oversee the bank accounts of Nonxuba’s firm.
It said it received the order on August 13, 2021. When it took control of the trust account it had a balance of just over R100 million.
At the time, the LPC said: “As a result of the allegations made against Mr Nonxuba and Nonxuba Inc, the LPC refused to issue Mr Nonxuba with a fidelity fund certificate for 2022. He needs this in order to lawfully practise for his own account.
“Mr Nonxuba challenged the LPC’s refusal to issue him with a fidelity fund certificate in court. His application was opposed by the LPC and the court upheld the LPC’s decision not to issue a fidelity fund certificate to him. In the circumstances, Mr Nonxuba has not been legally permitted to practise for his own account since January 1, 2022.”
In April 2022, the LPC also obtained an order prohibiting Nonxuba from practising.
Now that the LPC investigation has been concluded, it has lodged a court application to have him struck off.
LPC spokesperson Kabelo Letebele said on Thursday: “(He was) temporarily suspended and (the LPC) froze his account while it was investigating the whole matter. Now we are moving forward for a strike off. It will be day one presenting our case to the court (around) why he should be struck off.”
Attempts to reach Nonxuba were unsuccessful by deadline on Thursday.
Cape Times