AN ELDERLY woman from Orlando, Soweto, claims her attorney defrauded her of nearly R7,000.
Sabi Madi, 79, said she trusted her attorney, Tiragalo Sejwane, with matters involving a house she was renting out.
Sejwane is currently involved in a court case in which he is charged with armed robbery and possession of suspected stolen property.
Sejwane was charged with his law firm partner Rhodes Thuwe, who is also charged with being in possession of stolen property.
At the time of their arrest Sejwane and Thuwe were acting magistrates in Brits and Garankuwa, respectively.
"I went to him to help me with a lease for a tenant who was renting a house that was owned by my late daughter in Klipspruit," the pensioner said.
Madi claims she made an agreement with Sejwane that the tenant would pay the R738 a month rent to Sejwane and he would pay the bank because the house was not yet fully paid for.
She presented a letter from Sejwane's law firm, which states that the house in question was fully paid for. The letter is dated August 25 2009.
This, according to Madi, meant that the tenant should no longer be paying the rent to Sejwane but to her instead.
Madi claimed she never got a cent of the R6,570 owed to her as the tenant left the house only in June 2010. She also alleges that the tenant damaged her property while he was living in the house.
Madi said Sejwane claimed the tenant was no longer working and could not be found but he promised to track him down through other details.
"I never heard from him again until I saw him in the Sowetan (referring to Sejwane's court case).
"I trusted him because I'm that kind of person and I did not think that he would do this," she said.
In her letter Madi said she suspected that Sejwane used the rent money for himself or that he and the tenant were in cahoots to defraud her.
Sejwane confirmed that Madi was his client.
"There are appropriate channels to go through if she would like to take the matter further. The media is not an appropriate channel," Sejwane said.
Justice Department spokesperson Tlali Tlali advised that Madi contact the law society in their region or province to deal with the matter.
"If it is a criminal matter they should open a case with the police," he said.
- nkosin@sowetan.co.za
Granny 'swindled'
AN ELDERLY woman from Orlando, Soweto, claims her attorney defrauded her of nearly R7,000.
Sabi Madi, 79, said she trusted her attorney, Tiragalo Sejwane, with matters involving a house she was renting out.
Sejwane is currently involved in a court case in which he is charged with armed robbery and possession of suspected stolen property.
Sejwane was charged with his law firm partner Rhodes Thuwe, who is also charged with being in possession of stolen property.
At the time of their arrest Sejwane and Thuwe were acting magistrates in Brits and Garankuwa, respectively.
"I went to him to help me with a lease for a tenant who was renting a house that was owned by my late daughter in Klipspruit," the pensioner said.
Madi claims she made an agreement with Sejwane that the tenant would pay the R738 a month rent to Sejwane and he would pay the bank because the house was not yet fully paid for.
She presented a letter from Sejwane's law firm, which states that the house in question was fully paid for. The letter is dated August 25 2009.
This, according to Madi, meant that the tenant should no longer be paying the rent to Sejwane but to her instead.
Madi claimed she never got a cent of the R6,570 owed to her as the tenant left the house only in June 2010. She also alleges that the tenant damaged her property while he was living in the house.
Madi said Sejwane claimed the tenant was no longer working and could not be found but he promised to track him down through other details.
"I never heard from him again until I saw him in the Sowetan (referring to Sejwane's court case).
"I trusted him because I'm that kind of person and I did not think that he would do this," she said.
In her letter Madi said she suspected that Sejwane used the rent money for himself or that he and the tenant were in cahoots to defraud her.
Sejwane confirmed that Madi was his client.
"There are appropriate channels to go through if she would like to take the matter further. The media is not an appropriate channel," Sejwane said.
Justice Department spokesperson Tlali Tlali advised that Madi contact the law society in their region or province to deal with the matter.
"If it is a criminal matter they should open a case with the police," he said.
- nkosin@sowetan.co.za
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