A Free State High Court Judge is expected to appear in the Specialised Commercial Crime Court in Kroonstad to face charges of theft, money laundering and contempt of court.

This comes after the unidentified judge was on Friday served with a (J175) court summons, a form of securing the attendance of an accused person in court by the Hawks Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team.

The judge is due to appear in court on 9 March 2023.

Hawks spokesperson Brigadier Thandi Mbambo said the investigation stems from a Road Accident Fund (RAF) claim made when the Judge was still practising as an attorney.

She said: “The claim was made on behalf a six-year-old child who was involved in an accident as early as year 2000. He handed over the client’s file with an amount of R 1 255 000 to another attorney, upon taking up an appointment as a Judge.”

The victim’s mother reported the case against the second attorney who misappropriated the funds.

Mbambo said further investigation by the Hawks Serious Commercial Crime Investigation revealed that an amount of R 3.1 million was paid by RAF.

“The alleged action by the attorneys prejudiced the victim's funds surpassing R 2.5 million. The current High Court sitting Judge will make his first court appearance on 9 March 2023,” she said.

National Hawks head, Lieutenant General Godfrey Lebeya, applauded the team for their scrupulous investigation.

“We will not leave any stone unturned in protecting the rights of vulnerable persons,” he said.

Source: South African Government News Agency