Bogus lawyer Madikane loses bid to appeal order activating prison term

Convicted bogus lawyer Zuko Madikane’s attempt to challenge the order that put his suspended prison sentence into operation has failed after the Johannesburg magistrate’s court dismissed his application for leave to appeal on Friday.

The ruling leaves Madikane facing a three-year prison sentence stemming from his conviction in 2023 for defrauding businessman Kagiso Galesitoe of R88,000.

Madikane was originally sentenced in September 2023 to three years’ imprisonment, wholly suspended for five years on condition that he pay R44,000 to the clerk of the court for repayment to Galesitoe. His co-accused, Judge Sibanda, received a nine-month suspended sentence and was ordered to pay R10,000.

The case dates back to 2019, when Madikane and Sibanda posed as legal practitioners and received R88,000 from Galesitoe, who believed they were handling an urgent high court matter for him.

According to the state, the fraud contributed to the collapse of his business, which had a turnover of about R12m a year.

Madikane subsequently pursued legal challenges against his conviction and sentence. The Johannesburg high court and, later, the Supreme Court of Appeal dismissed the challenges, leaving the conviction intact.

The suspended sentence was later activated in May after Madikane failed to comply with the repayment condition.

The Johannesburg magistrate’s court invoked section 297(9) of the Criminal Procedure Act, which allows a court to put a suspended punishment into operation when a condition attached to the suspension has been breached.

Madikane then sought leave to appeal against the order activating his sentence. That application was dismissed on Friday.

With the application for leave to appeal dismissed, the three-year prison sentence is enforced, subject to any further legal remedy available to him.