Disbarred advocate Teffo to spend another 3 weeks behind bars
The case against disbarred advocate Malesela Teffo has been postponed to 6 September for further investigation.
Teffo faces charges of fraud, assault, theft, and an additional charge of contempt of court after he refused to cooperate with the police and court officials in the Pretoria Magistrates Court last week.
He was arrested on 1 August and has been in custody since then.
On Wednesday, Teffo again refused to leave the holding cells when his matter was called after lunch.
After several attempts by officials, he finally agreed to enter the dock.
Teffo’s lawyer, Eddie Maloba, told the court his client had not been legally charged arguing this made his appearance unlawful.
“Today your worship, while my client was still in the court cells, he was approached by two police detectives who came to him and made it clear to him that they were sent by the commander to come and charge him.
“It’s my instruction that this brought the matter to a head. This confirms the bone of contention that my client has not been charged.”
But State Prosecutor Maggie Sikati countered this, telling the court that this was raised and dealt with in previous proceedings where it was found that all essential information had been gathered – barring the fingerprints, which Teffo had reportedly refused to provide.
“Before court today we led a consultation with the accused’s attorney Mr Maloba, and he indicated that the accused didn’t have any problems giving his fingerprints as per the court order. That’s when the commander was informed to send two police officers.
“We then got information that the accused still refused for his fingerprints to be obtained.”
Through his lawyer, Teffo told the court he wished to “clarify” himself on why he alleged he was not legally charged. Magistrate Lidia Painter however said she could not make an order on a matter that had already been decided by another presiding officer at earlier proceedings.
Teffo then called for Painter’s recusal, citing bias.
“I’m not recusing myself. There’s no bias on my side. The fact that I’ve found in favour of the state, regarding their argument, doesn’t mean I am biased,” the magistrate said.
Teffo’s arrest, over two separate matters, relates to his alleged unlawful entry into a building where he had been renting office space, where he allegedly forced access into the office after allegedly assaulting the security guard.
In the second case, Teffo’s accused of defrauding two complainants who had approached him for legal assistance after he’d been disbarred.
It’s alleged he directed the pair to each deposit R6 500 into his personal account before arranging the consultation. But he allegedly ignored them after the transaction.
After Maloba tried to push for 24 August, the matter was postponed to next month for the state to obtain statements from witnesses, while Teffo has been ordered to provide his fingerprints.
