01 Jun 2022

The Law Society of Botswana (LSB) has been allowed to file a notice of opposition against Mr Lyndon Mothusi, who is appealing his removal from the roll of legal practitioners.

 Court of Appeal Judge, Justice Sigh Walia ruled on Tuesday in an application which Mothusi did not oppose, that the appeal was an important one and it was in the interests of justice that it be properly ventilated.

“Leave to file the notice of opposition out of time is therefore granted,” he said in his ruling, ordering that the notice of opposition to the appeal be filed within seven days of the date of the court order.

Mr Mothusi was barred from practice by a High Court judgment of October 2021, following a conviction of criminal misconduct and he subsequently appealed the decision to exclude him from the roll to the Court of Appeal, where the LSB filed its opposition late.According to the court rules, any opposition to the appeal must be mooted by notice within three weeks of service of the notice of appeal.

 However, Justice Waila noted, the applicant, LSB failed to meet the deadline and filed on November 15, 2021.

 He said the reasons for the default were dealt with at length in the founding affidavit of the LSB, adding that various steps by the society to institute the process were concluded in late October.

Furthermore, Justice Walia noted that the time frames provided by the LSB secretary were somewhat sketchy but not far-fetched.  ENDS