Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. Wesley Tafara Jena (39), a messenger at a local law firm, recently appeared before the Harare Magistrates’ Court for falsely presenting himself as a lawyer to a man seeking bail.
Jena appeared before a magistrate facing charges of contravening the Legal Practitioner Act.
Brief facts of the matter, as presented by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), are that Jena allegedly misrepresented to the complainant, Dennis Mahachi, that he was a legal practitioner on 22 April 2024.
Mahachi was desperately looking for legal representation for his brother Debate Mahachi to get bail.
He engaged Jena at Harare Magistrates’ Court and hired him to represent his brother. Jena who claimed to be a lawyer from Jena and Associates when he was just a messenger of the law firm, charged him US$500.
Mahachi paid Jena US$300 on 24 April 2024 and was not issued with a receipt. When Debate Mahachi appeared for bail at the said court, Jena remained seated instead of presenting himself as Mahachi’s legal practitioner.
This prompted the complainant to ask for an explanation. The accused person failed to present his certificate of practice as a lawyer. Mahachi lost US$300 and nothing was recovered.
Jena was expected to be back in court this Tuesday, 30 April 2024, for bail application.
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