Civil Law consultant fined $200 for forging power of attorney

A COROPRATE and civil law consultant Vision Sithole who forged a signature of Triniac Investments partner in the power of Attorney documents which was filed at the Bulawayo High Court on behalf of a company partner has been convicted and fined $200 for forgery. Sithole unlawfully filed a notice of opposition and withdrawal of the case at the same court.

Sithole represented by a lawyer Mlweliwenkululeko Ncube was denying the charge when he appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Charity Maphosa.

But at the close of the state case the magistrate convicted and sentenced him to pay a fine of $200.

Sithole was roped into the Triniac Investment mine dispute between the complainants Nqobile Khumalo and his wife Franscisca Mufambi and Israeal Reoven Meyer Dray and Avi Habot in which the latter two are allegedly to have fraudulently given mine shares to Sports and Arts Minister Andrew Langa.

Sithole masqueraded as a lawyer prompting Khumalo to instruct him (Sithole) to file a notice of opposition at the High Court. This happened following an order which was issued against Khumalo barring him from visiting or interfering with the mine activities.

Sithole a holder of a Bachelor of Arts in English from University of Zimbabwe also holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Civil Law. He said Khumalo might have faked the allegations after he lost a High Court case and he did that out of desperation.

He said when he signed the special power of attorney it was meant enable him to act as the principal in the issue in dispute on paralegal grounds. But that did not mean he was a legal practitioner and he never acted as one.

Sithole said he knew the two complainants prior to the issue as he was a consultant before they were chucked out of the mine. He said Khumalo and his wife together with their former partners know him since he was their company consultant.

"I knew the complainants as directors of Triniac Investment," said Sithole.

"There were contractual disagreements among directors and that is why I was chucked out. In fact Khumalo and his wife were chucked out first. I got out of the Triniac Investment because some political heavy weights appeared on the scene. We suffered sunset after their arrival."

He could not reveal their names though it is known that Langa is in the dispute.

He said when he signed the special power of attorney Khumalo and his wife had engaged him after they lawyer had ditched them and the two wanted to go back to the mine to reclaim their shares.

"They wanted me to assist have Israel chucked out of the company, saying since I had also suffered the same fate with them," he said.

Sithole said he was chucked out of the company without getting his pay for consultancy services.

He denied ever filling the notice of opposition and notice of withdrawal in the courts on behalf of Khumalo and his wife. He said that might have been done by their lawyer who later ditched them and he would not have filed the papers since he is not a lawyer.

Khumalo had previously told the court that he engaged Sithole after he received a provisional Court Order which barred him from visiting the Filabusi mine in which he was a partner with Meyer Dray and Habot. He said he wanted to oppose the order and when he went to the Mining Commissioner Lindiwe Sobantu Thusi.

He said the order was given on December 24, 2011and he met Sithole at commissioner's office on December 29, 2011. He said that is when he told him he is a lawyer who can assist me in my case.

Khumalo said Sithole made a notice of opposition and later a withdrawal notice without his knowledge. He said he then looked for another lawyer Norman Mugiya after noticing that Sithole had done wrong. Khumalo said the lawyer went to the High court to ask for his file and that is when he discovered that Sithole had filed an opposition notice and later filed a notice of withdrawal of the case. Khumalo said Sithole later told him to look for another lawyer because minister Langa had advised him not to represent him since Langa was an interested party in taking over of the company.

"When I checked the record at the High court I discovered that there was power of attorney document which was fraudulently signed deposited in the file and the signature was not mine," said Khumalo.

Sometime in December 2011, Khumalo was served with the High Court Provisional Order HC3542/2011 dated December 13.

He went to Bulawayo to look for a lawyer to file opposition notice. He visited the Mining Commissioner Thusi at Mhlahlandlela Complex and he was introduced to Sithole who was identified as an advocate to assist in the application.

Sithole later allegedly filed the notice of opposition on January 13, 2012 before he later filed a withdrawal notice without Khumalo's knowledge.

Khumalo reported the matter to the police. He also checked his records and discovered that Sithole had allegedly deposited a forged power of attorney document which was granting him the authority to deal with the mine issue even without consulting him (Khumalo). The alleged power of attorney document had a forged signature of Khumalo.