Durban - A Durban advocate who allegedly swindled potential home buyers out of hundreds of thousands of rand, could be struck off the roll of attorneys when his matter resumes at the Pietermaritzburg High Court in February.
Advocate Morris Siphiwe Machunu Ndlela, who faces charges of fraud, is being investigated by the Legal Practice Council (LPC) following complaints from at least nine victims who lost thousands of rand between 2018 and 2021. He appeared in court on Tuesday to face the music, but none of his victims were in attendance.
Ndlela apparently used the same modus operandi on all known victims, pretending to be a conveyancer, then pocketed all the funds transferred to him. Once the victims had paid, he disappeared and allegedly went as far as changing offices and contact numbers.
In October last year, Andiswa Vundla from uMlazi allegedly lost R180 000 of her inheritance after Ndlela had promised to handle the paperwork for a property she had set her sights on. Vundla was referred to Ndlela by a man who claimed the attorney specialised in conveyancing.
After receiving the money, Ndlela disappeared, allegedly ignoring calls and messages. Months went by and Vundla approached Umlazi police to open a case, but was told she could not be assisted.
In 2019, Sanele Shelembe from Inanda bought a home worth R180 000 from an estate agent who introduced Shelembe to Ndlela.
Shelembe then paid the full R180 000 for the house into Ndlela’s FNB account, and also made an additional payment of R12 000, which he was told was for transfers. Over and above that, Ndlela also requested that Shelembe deposit R1 500 for a title deed advert in a local newspaper.
Shelembe told the Sunday Tribune that he made payments in February 2020 and had been promised that the process would take at least three months before he could move into his new home. But little did he know that Ndlela would disappear with the cash.
When Shelembe went to the property, he found it occupied by a man who claimed the house was his family home.
In October last year, the Sunday Tribune reported that Ndlela had illegally pocketed over R200 000 from Sbonelo Mlaba when a property sale fell through. Mlaba also allegedly met Ndlela through a property agent who had sold him a house worth R300 000 in Malukazi, outside of uMlazi township.
Mlaba deposited R220 000 into the same FNB account, but shortly afterward Ndlela informed him that the property had been sold to a different buyer through a different agent.
The parties agreed in July 2020 that the full amount would be returned within 32 working days, but Ndlela did not honour his promise, and only made a payment of R20 000 in September 2021.
An acknowledgement of debt was signed with Ndlela binding himself to repayments of R20 000 monthly until the debt was settled. However, Mlaba only received R47 000 from Ndlela, which was paid in three instalments. Since then Mlaba has been attempting to retrieve the outstanding balance of R103 000.
The LPC’s Kabelo Letebele said Ndlela appeared in court for his suspension. He said the council had issued a warning to the public against Ndlela and further warned the Legal Aid, the Road Accident Fund, all the high and lower courts, and including the deeds office, of Ndlela's fraudulent ways.
“Our attorneys argued that his conduct in the matters before the court warranted strike-off proceedings. Judge Seegobin agreed, and Ndlela was therefore suspended pending a strike-off,” Letebele said. “The complainants have been advised to lodge cases with the police, as advocate Ndlela is not a conveyancer and is on our non-practising roll.”
Ndlela will be back in court on February 6 next year.
SUNDAY TRIBUNE