'His temperament is not suitable for the legal profession’: Shivambu weighs in on advocate Teffo

EFF deputy president Floyd Shivambu has weighed in on Malesela Daniel Teffo being struck off the roll of advocates, saying he caused his own problems.

The Pretoria high court ruled in favour of a Legal Practice Council (LPC) application in absentia on Friday as Teffo did not attend.

Judge Justice Nyathi and acting judge Thembi Bokako ordered Teffo be removed from the roll of legal practitioners.

“The respondent must surrender and deliver his certificate of enrolment as a legal practitioner to the registrar of this court,” Bokako said when delivering the judgment. 

Should Teffo fail to do so within two weeks, the sheriff is directed to take possession of the certificate to hand it to the registrar of the court.

Shivambu said Teffo must use this opportunity to self-reflect. 

“Mr Teffo caused his own problems. He must use this opportunity to self-reflect and perhaps consider a different career path. His temperament is not suitable for the legal profession,” he said.

Teffo represented four of the accused in the Senzo Meyiwa murder trial before he withdrew. 

The EFF earlier this month labelled Teffo an attention-seeker who has “an uncontrollable desire to be in the news cycle”. 

“Teffo is an embarrassment to the legal profession because he has used the tragedy of the late Bafana Bafana goalkeeper Senzo Meyiwa to build a profile for himself.

“It is an objective fact that Teffo would not be a person of interest to the public or the media if it was not for the never-ending case of Senzo Meyiwa, and since he has been removed from that process, he is seeking other avenues to remain a topic of discussion.”

The EFF advised Teffo to take up a different career where he can be the centre of attention.

“The legal profession is clearly not designed for characters such as him, who enjoy being the topic of discussion rather than being officers of the court who prioritise justice over self-seeking ambitions.”

Previously Teffo told News24  there would be a “serious unrest in the country” if he was removed.  

Teffo argued that removing him would affect people he is legally representing, including suspects in the Meyiwa murder case. 

“The two presiding officers are warned not to make a decision on the basis of emotions. The decision informed by emotions on the part of these two judges will cause serious unrest in the country, considering that the decision may adversely affect people who advocate Teffo is legally representing, including the emotionally-charged Senzo Meyiwa murder case,” said Teffo. 

“In light of the above paragraphs, any adverse finding against advocate Malesela Teffo will set the whole country on fire. Our African Arab spring may be inevitable, as stated by former state president Thabo Mbeki recently.”

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