Doctor Sobetha (31), a fake attorney is being sought by the Hawks Secunda based Serious Commercial Crime Investigation and Moroka detectives respectively, for impersonating an attorney. Sobetha was arrested on Friday, 24 March 2023, for impersonating an attorney. He represented Mhlabuyaxega Mntungwa (37), who was previously circulated as a wanted person for the murder of a former manager of Sam Holdings, Nkosinathi Emmanuel Ngcongo (34), who was fatally wounded on 12 September 2019.
After a series of court appearances, Nkosi was found guilty on 20 October 2020 and sentenced to 25 years’ imprisonment by the Bethal Magistrate’s Court on 23 October 2020 for murder.
The warrant of arrest was authorised for the arrest of Mntungwa. Mntungwa was eventually arrested on 01 February 2023 by the Provincial tracking team in KwaZulu Natal. Mntungwa was charged and appeared before the Bethal Magistrate court and was remanded in custody. The case was postponed to 24 March 2023.
On the day of his appearance, he was represented by his fake attorney (Sobetha). During the presentation of an affidavit to court on the bail application of Mtungwa, there were discrepancies which caught the attention of the court. A preliminary investigation was conducted, and it was discovered that Sobetha did not have any qualification to practice as an attorney. He was then arrested by the Hawks Secunda based Serious Organised Crime Investigation and Secunda based Serious Commercial Crime Investigation for impersonating an attorney.
Both accused were remanded in custody and the case was postponed to 27 March 2023. Mntungwa was appearing for murder while Sobetha was facing charges of impersonating an attorney. The accused were remanded in custody and the case was postponed to 23 May 2023.
During the appearance, Sobetha was granted R5000 bail while Mtungwa was remanded in custody. The case was postponed to 14 October 2023. Sobetha absconded court and J165 was issued against him. A warrant of arrest was authorised on 13 February 2024 for his arrest.
The Provincial Head of the Hawks Major General Gerber is requesting members of the public to assist with information regarding the whereabouts of Sobetha. Anyone with information can contact the Investigating Officer Thembinkosi Daniel Nkambule on 082 303 9874. Major General Gerber further assured the public that all information received will be dealt in with confidentiality.
