Trickster dares judiciary
Police in Mzuzu have arrested a man who posed as a lawyer and represented a client in the Senior Resident Magistrate’s court in Mzuzu.
The suspect, Golden Mbeya, 27, of Kamtembeya Village, Traditional Authority ( T/A) Kampingo Sibande in Mzimba District, was arrested after senior resident magistrate Kondwani Banda noted that he was not conversant with court proceedings when the court sat last week Friday.
serious offence
Banda on Friday was hearing a civil case number 84/2015 in which a complainant, Linda Dambo, was being represented by Mbeya.
However, during the course of the proceedings, the magistrate noted that Mbeya was not familiar with the proceedings.
He adjourned the case to quiz the suspect if he was indeed a lawyer and the matter was later reported to police who arrested Mbeya.
Northern Region Police spokesperson Maurice Chapola on Tuesday confirmed the arrest of Mbeya, who has been charged with three offences. He is to answer the charge of making court documents without authority, forgery of court documents and altering false documents.
unique case
He said police are also investigating to find out how Mbeya found himself representing a client.
“I can confirm the arrest of the suspect, but we are investigating the matter to find out how he found himself in court to represent clients,” said Chapola.
Judiciary spokesperson Mlenga Mvula said the case in question is unique, adding it is unfortunate that someone could go to the court to represent a client when he is not qualified. He said only lawyers with valid practicing licenses can represent a person in court.
Malawi Law Society (MLS) president John Suzi-Banda said MLS usually receives reports of lawyers who have not renewed their licenses trying to represent clients.
He said it is a serious offence for someone to pose as a lawyer and represent a person who is seeking justice. n
