Ex-convict lawyer’s career hangs by a thread over N$4m ‘theft’
An ex-convict’s admission as a practicing lawyer of the High Court is hanging in the balance after he allegedly refused to return a full amount of nearly N$4 million paid to him by a client to buy a house.
The Law Society of Namibia (LSN) is seeking the disbarment of lawyer Haroldt Kamatuka, whom it also accused of using dubious means to qualify as a legal practitioner - by concealing that he was convicted and served time in jail for fraud and theft.
Kamatuka, who was formerly charged with 16 counts of fraud and two counts of theft and was incarcerated at the Windhoek Correctional Facility, did not disclose this in his application to be a legal practitioner, a major red flag for the LSN, it said.
“We now have proof that [he] in fact failed to disclose his criminal conviction from this court. This fact alone, the non-disclosure, is sufficient for this court to strike Kamatuka’s name from the roll of legal practitioners,” it said.
The LSN added that it was not confident Kamatuka had changed his ways, and was, instead, still acting dishonestly.
“It must be stressed that the crime of fraud and theft both involve dishonesty, which fundamentally goes against the standard set for a legal practitioner, often expressed as in good faith or an inflexible regard for the truth. It is apparent that Kamatuka, since the time he was convicted of fraud and theft, has not changed his dishonest ways.”
‘Inaccurate’
Kamatuka also stands accused of using the credentials of the directorate of legal services in the justice ministry, which he was not entitled to, to complete his Justice Training Centre training - required to qualify him as an admitted legal practitioner of the High Court.
The law society took issue with Kamatuka’s assertion that he completed his training through the ministry, despite never having worked there.
“It is not clear where [he] is currently employed. At the relevant time to the complaint, in 2018 and 2019, he was, for the purpose of his legal training, attached with the Government Attorney, although he was not employed there.
“The statement in his admission application that in June 2022 he was employed as a legal officer at the directorate of legal services in the ministry of justice is inaccurate. It is not possible for someone not employed in government to make use of this opportunity,” it added.
Complaint
According to the LSN, it raised questions regarding what information the Government Attorney was provided in allowing Kamatuka to do his attachment there.
It added that it never received information from the Government Attorney that Kamatuka was given permission to do his attachment at the Government Attorney’s office.
The LSN wants the court to issue an order calling upon Kamatuka to show cause why - given his unprofessional, dishonourable and unworthy conduct - his name should not be struck from the roll of legal practitioners.
The law society further noted that it received a complaint into Kamatuka’s conduct not even a full year after he was admitted as a legal practitioner.
“Not even a full year after his admission, specifically on 3 March 2023, the [LSN] received a preliminary alert from a legal practitioner, Ileni Gebhardt, on behalf of one of her clients, Robert Woodward, who paid N$3.9 million to [Kamatuka] for “safekeeping, legal services and the purchase of a house in Okahandja”, which Kamatuka was reluctant to refund to the complainant,” the law society said.
By May this year, Kamatuka had paid back over N$1.8 million to Woodward, with N$2 million still outstanding.
Friend, not client
Kamatuka claimed that Woodward was his friend, and that he was never his lawyer.
He produced a copy of an agreement that he and Woodward allegedly signed regarding the money transfer, but Woodward has denied ever seeing or signing that agreement.
The matter is scheduled for a case management conference on 18 October.
Kamatuka is represented by Mbanga Siyomunji, while the LSN has enlisted the services of Uno Katjipuka-Sibolile.
The Law Society of Namibia (LSN) is seeking the disbarment of lawyer Haroldt Kamatuka, whom it also accused of using dubious means to qualify as a legal practitioner - by concealing that he was convicted and served time in jail for fraud and theft.
Kamatuka, who was formerly charged with 16 counts of fraud and two counts of theft and was incarcerated at the Windhoek Correctional Facility, did not disclose this in his application to be a legal practitioner, a major red flag for the LSN, it said.
“We now have proof that [he] in fact failed to disclose his criminal conviction from this court. This fact alone, the non-disclosure, is sufficient for this court to strike Kamatuka’s name from the roll of legal practitioners,” it said.
The LSN added that it was not confident Kamatuka had changed his ways, and was, instead, still acting dishonestly.
“It must be stressed that the crime of fraud and theft both involve dishonesty, which fundamentally goes against the standard set for a legal practitioner, often expressed as in good faith or an inflexible regard for the truth. It is apparent that Kamatuka, since the time he was convicted of fraud and theft, has not changed his dishonest ways.”
‘Inaccurate’
Kamatuka also stands accused of using the credentials of the directorate of legal services in the justice ministry, which he was not entitled to, to complete his Justice Training Centre training - required to qualify him as an admitted legal practitioner of the High Court.
The law society took issue with Kamatuka’s assertion that he completed his training through the ministry, despite never having worked there.
“It is not clear where [he] is currently employed. At the relevant time to the complaint, in 2018 and 2019, he was, for the purpose of his legal training, attached with the Government Attorney, although he was not employed there.
“The statement in his admission application that in June 2022 he was employed as a legal officer at the directorate of legal services in the ministry of justice is inaccurate. It is not possible for someone not employed in government to make use of this opportunity,” it added.
Complaint
According to the LSN, it raised questions regarding what information the Government Attorney was provided in allowing Kamatuka to do his attachment there.
It added that it never received information from the Government Attorney that Kamatuka was given permission to do his attachment at the Government Attorney’s office.
The LSN wants the court to issue an order calling upon Kamatuka to show cause why - given his unprofessional, dishonourable and unworthy conduct - his name should not be struck from the roll of legal practitioners.
The law society further noted that it received a complaint into Kamatuka’s conduct not even a full year after he was admitted as a legal practitioner.
“Not even a full year after his admission, specifically on 3 March 2023, the [LSN] received a preliminary alert from a legal practitioner, Ileni Gebhardt, on behalf of one of her clients, Robert Woodward, who paid N$3.9 million to [Kamatuka] for “safekeeping, legal services and the purchase of a house in Okahandja”, which Kamatuka was reluctant to refund to the complainant,” the law society said.
By May this year, Kamatuka had paid back over N$1.8 million to Woodward, with N$2 million still outstanding.
Friend, not client
Kamatuka claimed that Woodward was his friend, and that he was never his lawyer.
He produced a copy of an agreement that he and Woodward allegedly signed regarding the money transfer, but Woodward has denied ever seeing or signing that agreement.
The matter is scheduled for a case management conference on 18 October.
Kamatuka is represented by Mbanga Siyomunji, while the LSN has enlisted the services of Uno Katjipuka-Sibolile.
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