…barred from legal practice over stolen client funds
Moorosi Tsiane
ADVOCATE Dyke Thejane has suffered a devastating professional blow after Acting High Court Judge, Sekake Malebanye, struck him off the roll of advocates and barred him from practising law.
This follows allegations that he stole M262 000 belonging to his client, ‘Matsepang Setala, part of a M350 000 settlement from LNIG Insurance arising from a road accident claim.
The settlement was deposited into his chambers’ trust account on 14 May 2024, two months after the formal agreement to pay Ms Setla was signed. Although he was only entitled to retain M87 500 in lieu of his legal fees, he allegedly converted the remaining M262 000 to his personal use.
The Law Society of Lesotho (LSL) swiftly moved to freeze his Nedbank account, only to discover that the money had already been withdrawn.
After suspending him, the LSL approached the court this year seeking his removal from the roll and the surrender of his practising certificate. When the matter resumed on 28 October, Adv Thejane appeared unrepresented, while the Society was represented by Adv Moshoeshoe.
The court heard that Adv Thejane had been instructed in 2019 to pursue a Motor Vehicle Accident claim against LNIG and was granted power of attorney to receive the settlement on behalf of Ms Setala.
When Ms Setala contacted him four months after the settlement was finalised, he insisted the funds had not yet been released and would “take a long time” to be processed.
However, just two days later, LNIG contacted her directly and informed her that the M350 000 settlement had in fact been paid into Adv Thejane’s trust account two months earlier.
She confronted him, demanding that he transfer her share of M262 500, while he retained his agreed 25 percent fee. The transfer was never made, prompting her to lodge a complaint with the LSL.
The Society’s investigations confirmed that the funds had been stolen.
Adv Moshoeshoe submitted that the Law Society Act, the Legal Practitioners Act and the Society’s Rules require practitioners to uphold strict ethical standards — standards which Adv Thejane had flagrantly violated, particularly Rule 15(1), which demands the highest levels of honesty and integrity.
Justice Malebanye held that Adv Thejane’s conduct fell far below what is expected of a legal practitioner.
“…In weighing up the conduct of Thejane against the conduct expected of a legal practitioner, this court finds that he has gravely failed to discharge his duties as a practitioner and his behaviour is, without a shadow of doubt, disgraceful and falls short of the integrity desired of a legal practitioner,” Justice Malebanye ruled.
He further stated that Thejane had failed the test of being a fit and proper person, saying the conduct eroded public trust in the profession and “spat on the foundation of legal practice”.
“There is no integrity and honour in dishonestly appropriating funds belonging to a client. Looking at the gravity of his indiscretion in contravening Rule 15 alone, suspension will not be a suitable punishment. It would be in the best interest of the profession and of the public that he be barred from legal practice in general,” the judge added.
Justice Malebanye therefore ordered that Adv Thejane be removed from the roll of advocates and barred from practising.
He also ordered that Adv Thejane surrender his certificate of admission, accounting records and all documents relating to his law firm’s finances to the Registrar of the High Court.
While his firm’s bank accounts remain frozen, the LSL was also ordered to appoint a curator to wind up the practice and seize all client files from Adv Thejane.
