INLSA
Steve Mundhree, convicted last year of sexually assaulting a young clerk in his court a conviction confirmed by two judges this month is working as a lawyer.
Sex pest magistrate Steve Mundhree, convicted last year of sexually assaulting a young clerk in his court – a conviction confirmed by two judges this month – is working as a lawyer.
And now the KZN Society of Advocates has launched a probe “into the situation” and is considering taking court action to have him struck from the roll of advocates on the grounds that he is not a fit and proper person.
Mercury reporters have witnessed Mundhree robed and appearing in various courts on several occasions this year, the most recent being last week when he appeared before Acting Judge Julian King in a matter relating to a divorce.
Mundhree, 67, who was a senior magistrate in Chatsworth and Nongoma, was brought back from retirement in 2010 and was presiding over a backlog of court casesin Durban when he committed the crime – which he has always denied.
But magistrate Jan Greyvenstein found that he had lured the pretty 24-year-old clerk of the court to his office under the pretext of giving her chocolates for Eid. There, he kissed her face, neck, cheek and mouth and then, while he put his tongue in her mouth, he fondled her right breast.
He told her he loved her and could not stop staring at her in court.
She reported what had happened to the prosecutor and legal aid board attorney, who also both testified during the trial.
The magistrate, in his judgment, said Mundhree had been a sexual opportunist and he sentenced him to five years’ imprisonment, wholly suspended.
Mundhree took his case on appeal, but earlier this month Judges Kevin Swain and Gregory Kruger dismissed this, saying they were satisfied that the complainant was telling the truth and that Mundhree, who claimed the woman had made the advances, had not.
The chairman of the KZN society of advocates, advocate Aditya Kissoon-Singh, said the Bar council was aware that Mundhree was acting as an advocate.
“We have taken steps to investigate the position. Our complaints committee will report back next month, and we will then decide what steps to take,” he said. “He is not a member of the Bar and appears to be practising as an independent. But, in terms of the Admissions of Advocates Act, the Bar council has a legal obligation to investigate these things and to bring matters to the attention of the court which affect the organised profession.”
A legal source said a requirement of being admitted to the roll of advocates was that the person be “fit and proper”.
The Bar council could bring an application to the court, where two judges would determine whether or not Mundhree should still be allowed to practice.
When The Mercury contacted Mundhree this week and asked him if he was practising as an advocate in KwaZulu-Natal, he said he did not want to comment and ended the call.
