Lawyer risks disbarment, criminal charges

A Windhoek High Court judge last week determined that there is reason to believe that a legal practitioner failed to inform the court that he had been convicted of fraud, theft and bribery before being accepted as a legal practitioner.

Acting judge Beatrix de Jager also found that there is evidence that the attorney, Haroldt Kamatuka, acted dishonestly.

He now risks facing criminal charges and having his name struck from the roll of legal practitioners in Namibia.

On Wednesday, De Jager granted an application by the Law Society of Namibia (LSN) and issued a rule nisi order.

Kamatuka was instructed to show, by 5 July, why his name should not be struck from the roll and why a case of fraud, theft, bribery and violation of the law for legal practitioners should not be referred to the prosecutor-general.

The case has been postponed until 17 July.

In her judgment, De Jager found that Kamatuka had acted dishonestly under oath in his application for admission as well as in an affidavit to the LSN.

"A legal practitioner who is dishonest under oath can be considered unfit to remain a legal practitioner."

Misconduct

It is alleged that Kamatuka presented himself as a legal practitioner and drafted a will for someone, for which he received payment, while he was only a candidate legal practitioner.

It is further alleged that Kamatuka later presented himself as a practicing legal practitioner with his own law firm. He supposedly accepted money from someone while he did not have his own law firm, a trust account or a fidelity fund certificate.

"Kamatuka allegedly failed to return the balance of a transfer made to him on December 28, 2022, to the person. He registered an immovable property, bought with those funds, in his name and that of his wife without registering it and transferring it to the third party for whom the house was intended," according to court documents.

Admission

De Jager emphasised in her judgment that individuals bringing admission applications must meet the requirement to disclose every fact or circumstance that may influence the court's decision.

"The failure to do so is a violation of good faith. The profession of a legal practitioner requires the utmost good faith from legal practitioners and aspiring legal practitioners.

"There is no doubt that criminal convictions are essential and relevant to the question of whether an applicant is a suitable and appropriate person for admission as a legal practitioner," De Jager added.

She further found that Kamatuka's previous convictions for fraud, theft and bribery are accepted as true and correct until contradictory evidence is provided.

She also believes it is sufficient for the court to conclude that he is not a suitable and appropriate person to remain a legal practitioner and to strike his name from the roll.

"These are serious violations involving elements of dishonesty, which are fundamentally at odds with the standards of all legal practitioners."

De Jager issued an order for Kamatuka to pay the legal costs of the LSN for the application brought against him.

"The applicant [LSN], which acted reasonably, approached the court on the basis of their public duty and it should not come out of their own pocket to do so," the judgment reads.

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