Claremont attorney in hot water over Mitchells Plain house

WESTERN Cape High Court Judge Siraj Desai has ordered an investigation into the conduct of a Claremont- based attorney following a questionable housing deal in Mitchells Plain.

Kerith Chetty from KC & Associates appeared before Judge Desai on Wednesday following an urgent application by Thaabied Noordien demanding that Chetty should repay a R200 000 deposit he had paid in December for a house in Mitchells Plain.

Chetty told the court she had paid back the money on the eve of her court appearance, as she was “proceeding with caution”.

Noordien claimed in court papers the sale of the house was not completed and he had been trying since February to retrieve his money.

The total cost of the house was R400 000.

Noordien alleged he had already paid half the sale price by the time he first realised in January that the deal was in trouble. This was after they had tried to proceed with registration and discovered that the property was already registered in someone else’s name.

Chetty told the court the original seller had been placed under debt rescue and was being assisted by a company called African Consumer Solutions, owned by a Faizel Noor.

She added that Noor happened to be a previous client, and that she ran her business from the same premises where Noor’s offices were previously situated.

On Thursday, Weekend Argus tracked down Noor and was informed that the Faizel Noor mentioned in court was in fact his uncle, with whom Judge Desai “had bones”.

The man provided Weekend Argus with a contact number for this “uncle” but when this number was dialled, the same man answered the call and denied that he had spoken with anyone from any newspaper the previous day.

“I am not in partnership with Faizel Noor. I have acted for him in a debt review matter. I would not have taken on a matter if it was not above board,” said Chetty.

Desai, however, said Chetty’s conduct appeared “irregular”.

“You took money from a person for whom this house was an investment for his children. This is his life-long ambition,” said Desai.

During testimony, Desai asked Chetty three times if she had anything to declare.

The third time she admitted there had been two other deals in which she and Noor were involved that had gone sour .

Desai subsequently ordered the Cape Law Society and the cluster commander for Khayelitsha and Mitchells Plain, Major-General J J Brand, to investigate the conduct of Chetty and her alleged involvement in the three housing deals in Mitchells Plain.

An email was sent to the Cape Law Society to enquire if it had received complaints about Chetty.

Frank Dorey, director of the Cape Law Society, said in an email that they were unable to disclose details pertaining to disciplinary proceedings.

“The society’s disciplinary proceedings are regulated by the provisions of the Attorneys Act No 53 of 1979. In terms of the society’s rules, promulgated in terms of the Attorneys Act, disciplinary proceedings are confidential.”