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By Botho Molosankwe 
54m ago
Johannesburg – A Free State attorney has been removed from the defense list and now has a criminal record after using false documents to apply for a magistrate position.
Ruwaidah Edith Henney, 38, was found guilty and sentenced for fraud last week for an incident that occurred in April 2018.
According to Captain Christopher Singo of the Free State Hawks, Henney was at the Bloemfontein Magistrates Court when a high-ranking magistrate approached her and asked if she would be interested in an available interim magistrate position.
He really wanted to apply for the job and was then asked to submit his CV along with a completed form.
Singo said that based on the information in Henney’s CV and the attached application form, she was recommended and appointed interim magistrate.
However, it was later discovered that she had falsified information that she was an admitted attorney, which was a requirement for obtaining the position.
“Initially, the defendant was asked to present proof of her admission as a lawyer and again at the end of July 2018.
“An email dated July 25, 2018, which was allegedly written by the Lawyers Society, was sent by the accused in this regard.
However, the senior magistrate who had asked Henney to run for the position later found out from the Acting Director of the Law Society that the latter was never registered as a lawyer candidate or admitted as a lawyer.
“The accused was then confronted and she admitted during the meeting that she had fabricated the documents confirming that she was never admitted as a lawyer.
“On October 29, 2019, the accused was notified of summons to appear in court and on December 10, 2020, he was found guilty of fraud.
“She was sentenced to 36 months of prison supervision and another 36 months of sentence suspended for five years on the condition that she is not found guilty of fraud, falsification and pronunciation committed during the period of suspension.
“The defendant’s name must also be removed from the List of Attorneys on or before June 30, 2021.”
MESS
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