Fraud accused Brenda Wardle finally to stand trial

Alleged fraudster Brenda Wardle, who is accused of practising as an attorney without having the legal authority to do so, will appear in the Gqeberha commercial crimes court today, when her trial is finally expected to get under way.

Wardle, who has been out on R50,000 bail for almost two years after being held in custody for nearly four years, has been charged with fraud and contravening the Attorneys Act, as well as an alternative charge of theft.

The legal expert, who made international news during the trial of convicted murderer Oscar Pretorius where she regularly gave legal opinions, spent most of yesterday morning behind closed doors with state advocate Lise Keech before her matter was rolled over to today.

Notorious for playing hideand-seek with the law and hampering trial proceedings by bringing one court application after the next, Wardle was eventually arrested in June 2017.

She lost numerous applications for bail, which included approaching the high court in Gqeberha, petitioning the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) in Bloemfontein, and the president of the SCA which had all been refused.

She was eventually granted bail by magistrate Lionel Lindoor in June 2021 during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

She was released on strict bail conditions including that she not leave the Eastern Cape, that she remain at her family home in East London, and that she report to the nearest police station three times a week.

The charges against Wardle stem from her allegedly misrepresenting herself to an Eastern Cape family who she convinced to pay over more than R500,000 to assist them in a legal matter.

According to the charge sheet, during April 2009 and August 2013 Wardle unlawfully, falsely and with the intent to defraud, gave out and pretended to Stephanus Cornelius van Aardt that she was an attorney and she would bring an application for his early release on parole after he was convicted on a charge of murder and sentenced to 12 years.

It is alleged that during May 2009 and February 2011, Wardle had been paid R538,766 by the Van Aardt family.