Cape Town - Advocate Pearl Mathibela is crying foul after being expelled from the Cape Bar Council (CBC), allegedly for not paying her Bar dues.
Mathibela has made an urgent court application for the CBC to immediately reinstate her as a member of the Cape Bar.
The matter is set to be heard in court on Friday.
In papers filed in the Cape High Court, Mathibela states she received an email on October 20 informing her the CBC had resolved at its meeting on October 18 to terminate her membership with immediate effect.
“No reasons for the termination were provided, and to date none has been provided,” Mathibela's founding affidavit reads.
The letter, under the headline “Default Of Your Membership Obligations”, simply reads: “The matter served before the Bar Council at its meeting on 18 October 2016. The Bar Council resolved to terminate your membership with immediate effect.”
Mathibela said she had lodged a formal complaint with the General Bar of South Africa against the CBC and its members earlier this year.
“My complaint contains an account of my sustained harassment by the CBC and its members over a prolonged period. In the complaint, I contend that the conduct complained of constitutes an abuse of power. As regards the individual members of CBC, I contend further in my complaint that the conduct complained of constitutes conduct unbecoming an advocate,” Mathibela stated.
She wrote that given her “unlawful termination” she is of the “firm view” that the CBC deliberately embarked on a course aimed at making her stay at the Cape Bar intolerable to ultimately have her resign from the Cape Bar or be removed from it.
She further accuses the CBC of bullying and acting unlawfully.
Mathibela told the Cape Times her expulsion was “unlawful as the CBC did not follow due process”.
“The CBC's actions are not in line with the CBC constitution,” she said.
She said the CBC had resolved to discuss her non-payment of Bar dues at a CBC meeting.
Mathibela objected to this, saying she owes less than R6000 yet other Bar members owe in excess of R100 000.
She said her expulsion is “victimisation, not only against me, but against other members who refuse to toe the line”.
She said her expulsion came because she showed support to Advocate Chumani Giyose, who was expelled last year, also for not paying Bar dues.
Giyose said his practice collapsed because he could not longer afford to pay bills, thanks to what he called “untransformed briefing patterns”.
Mathibela openly supported Giyose's sentiments and highlighted CBC's alleged transformation by approaching the media.
She believes her “harassment” came because she helped expose the “slow transformation” of the Cape Bar.
Last year she donned her robes every day from April 30 for a month outside Parliament in protest to highlight “a lack of transformation” in the profession.
CBC vice chairperson Louise Buikman said the Bar Council will oppose Mathibela's application in court on Friday.
“Our answer to the allegations will be set out in our answering affidavit,” Buikman said.
The matter is set to be heard in the Western Cape High Court on Friday.
Cape Times