Disbarred advocate Malesela Teffo arrested in Pretoria

Gauteng police confirmed on Tuesday that disbarred advocate Malesela Teffo, who was one of the defence lawyers in the Senzo Meyiwa murder trial, was arrested and detained at the Pretoria Central police station. 

Gauteng police spokesperson Col Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi confirmed the arrest and said Teffo is expected to appear in the Pretoria magistrate's court on Thursday.

“Police can confirm a 53-year-old man has been arrested today [August 1] on charges of fraud, assault, malicious damage to property and trespassing,” she said.

Teffo was struck off the roll last year by the Pretoria high court. The court decided after 22 complaints were received by the Legal Practice Council (LPC). The statutory body responsible for regulatory affairs of the legal industry said the complaints, from 2019 to last year, included:

• assault;
• misleading the court on several occasions;
• contempt of court;
• breaching court orders;
• consulting clients without a brief from an attorney; and
• misappropriating funds received from clients.

“The ruling means he is not able to practise, cannot offer advice or appear in court as a legal practitioner or offer these services to members of the public,” LPC chair Janine Myburgh said at the time.

TimesLIVE previously reported that judge Winston Msimeki penned a judgment on March 22 2022 officially throwing Teffo off the Meyiwa case. This after he was allegedly misbehaving, being disrespectful and causing drama in the Johannesburg high court in another case in which he was involved.

Msimeki’s 23-page judgment, which TimesLIVE saw at the time, made shocking revelations about how Teffo has disrespected him in court, even going as far as telling Msimeki he is “not a sober judge” and is “73 years old and ought to have retired at 70 instead of remaining in court carrying a political mandate without a case”.

Listing a range of other allegations — including when Teffo missed court dates because he was in jail, threatening the prosecutor in court and addressing Msimeki by his surname instead of “your lordship” — Msimeki said: “I, in my entire career as a judge or attorney while I practised never experienced nor saw what Mr Teffo was doing in court.”

TimesLIVE