Johannesburg – A Free State lawyer has been scrapped off the roll of advocates and now has a criminal record after using fake documents to apply for a magistrate position.
Ruwaidah Edith Henney, 38, was convicted and sentenced for fraud last week over an incident that occurred in April 2018.
According to Free State Hawks’ Captain Christopher Singo, Henney was at the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court when a senior magistrate approached her and asked whether she would be interested in an acting magistrate position that was available.
She was keen to apply for the job and was then requested to submit her CV together with a completed form.
Singo said based on the information on Henney’s CV and accompanying application form, she was then recommended and appointed as an acting magistrate.
However, it was later found she had falsified information she was an admitted attorney, which was a requirement to getting the position.
“The accused was initially requested to provide proof of her admittance as an attorney and was again requested at the end of July 2018.
“An e-mail dated July 25, 2018, that was purportedly written by the Law Society, was sent by the accused in this regard.
However, the senior magistrate who had asked Henney to apply for the job later discovered from the acting director of the Law Society that the latter was never registered as a candidate attorney nor admitted as an attorney.
“The accused was then confronted and she admitted during the meeting that she had fabricated the documents that confirmed that she was never admitted as an attorney.
“On October 29, 2019, the accused was served with summonses to appear in court and was on December 10, 2020, convicted on a charge of fraud.
“She was sentenced to 36 months’ correctional supervision, and further 36 months suspended sentence for five years on condition that she is not convicted of fraud, forgery and uttering committed during the period of suspension.
“The accused name is also to be struck off the Roll of Advocates on or before 30 June 2021.”
IOL