Controversial East Cape lawyer held

One of the Eastern Cape’s most controversial lawyers – who has been involved in a number of medico-legal and Road Accident Fund cases – has been arrested.

The lawyer, whose name is known to TimesLIVE, was arrested in Mthatha on Wednesday night by a Hawks team led by national investigators.

He cannot be named until he has appeared in the Mthatha Magistrate’s Court on Thursday.

Hawks national spokesperson Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi confirmed the arrest.

However, he would not say what charges – or how many – the lawyer, 46, was facing.

It is understood, however, that he faces fraud charges.

He was arrested at a hotel in Mthatha on Wednesday.

It is believed that the Special Investigating Unit has been working with police in the case, probing hospital negligence claims involving the lawyer.

Some of the claims are suspected to have been false, and in several cases the Eastern Cape department of health has had to pay out for those claims.

Many of the beneficiaries had to fight tooth and nail to get their money, and were allegedly overcharged by the lawyer.

A health department official, who did not want to be named, said: “The cases with him involved millions of rands, and we suspect that his arrest will lead to a number of other staff ... being arrested.”

The Sunday Times reported in 2016 that the Hawks, -in conjunction with the police’s Commercial Crimes Unit‚ were investigating 31 complaints by former clients of the lawyer. –