The Grahamstown High Court has terminated a 16-year interdict prohibiting a 65-year-old Queenstown attorney from practice.
As is standard, the interdict was brought by the Cape Law Society in December 1999 – exactly 16 years ago – pending an application to strike the then 49-year-old Macvicar Qaqambile Klaas from the attorneys’ roll.
But after obtaining the interdict in 1999, the Law Society seems to have entirely forgotten about Klaas, effectively leaving him in professional limbo for 16 years.
Klaas occasionally acted as a magistrate and as an office administrator in a firm of attorneys, where he says he kept abreast of the law.
The Law Society was finally jarred back into action when Klaas, now a grandfather, brought an application to terminate the interdict so he could resume his long-frozen practice.
The Law Society countered by finally launching its long overdue application to strike him from the roll, contending he was still not a fit and proper person to be an officer of the court. It alleged he had stolen some R200000 from his trust account in the 90s.
The Law Society’s council also apologised unreservedly to the Grahamstown High Court for its failure to bring the striking-off application earlier and said it could find no records on how it came to be overlooked.
But Judge Jeremy Pickering said while Klaas had behaved dishonestly, he had learnt a long, hard lesson and seemed to have reformed.
He dismissed the application to strike Klaas off the attorneys’ roll.
Klaas had admitted in his affidavit that he had “behaved in a scandalous and dishonest fashion which is unbecoming to a person who practises as an attorney” and had expressed sincere regret for his actions. At 65, he said he wished only to “end my remaining years as an honest and reliable person”.
Pickering set aside the interdict and granted Klaas leave to resume his practice providing he first complete a practice management course.
16-year interdict finally set aside
As is standard, the interdict was brought by the Cape Law Society in December 1999 – exactly 16 years ago – pending an application to strike the then 49-year-old Macvicar Qaqambile Klaas from the attorneys’ roll.
But after obtaining the interdict in 1999, the Law Society seems to have entirely forgotten about Klaas, effectively leaving him in professional limbo for 16 years.
Klaas occasionally acted as a magistrate and as an office administrator in a firm of attorneys, where he says he kept abreast of the law.
The Law Society was finally jarred back into action when Klaas, now a grandfather, brought an application to terminate the interdict so he could resume his long-frozen practice.
The Law Society countered by finally launching its long overdue application to strike him from the roll, contending he was still not a fit and proper person to be an officer of the court. It alleged he had stolen some R200000 from his trust account in the 90s.
The Law Society’s council also apologised unreservedly to the Grahamstown High Court for its failure to bring the striking-off application earlier and said it could find no records on how it came to be overlooked.
But Judge Jeremy Pickering said while Klaas had behaved dishonestly, he had learnt a long, hard lesson and seemed to have reformed.
He dismissed the application to strike Klaas off the attorneys’ roll.
Klaas had admitted in his affidavit that he had “behaved in a scandalous and dishonest fashion which is unbecoming to a person who practises as an attorney” and had expressed sincere regret for his actions. At 65, he said he wished only to “end my remaining years as an honest and reliable person”.
Pickering set aside the interdict and granted Klaas leave to resume his practice providing he first complete a practice management course.
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