Daily Sun (13 August 2015) - THANKS TO SunPower, life may soon change for the better for Timothy, the man they call the Squatter Camp Millionaire.
The attorney who handled his case is facing investigation by the Law Society.
TIMOTHY’S BANK BALANCE MAY SOON GROW BY UP TO R790 000!
Yesterday, Timothy Mkhabela found out how much money he is owed. “I am rich!” said Timothy.
With the help of the People’s Paper, Timothy went to the Road Accident Fund and found out that the amount paid out to his lawyer, Manie Bothma, was R1 050 918! Timothy’s right leg was amputated after a car accident in 2010. Bothma was supposed to take his fee and hand over the rest of the money to Timothy.
Even if the lawyer had deducted the maximum fee of 25%, Timothy’s share is still R788 188. The fund paid the money to the attorney four months ago but Timothy has seen very little of it. He claims his lawyer only offered to give him R3 000 a month but he said the lawyer only gave him the R3 000 once and built him a shack outside Delmas, Mpumalanga. Timothy refused to accept the shack.
He has been living with his benefactor and friend Tinny Simelani at the side of the road in Sundra, near Delmas. “For four months, he made me live the life of a beggar, while he held on to the money,” said Timothy. “If it wasn’t for Daily Sun, I would not even know how much money was paid to him. Meanwhile, he was lending me money out of my own funds.
“How cruel can anyone be?” said Timothy.
Last Thursday Daily Sun asked Bothma for comment but he claimed attorney-client confidentiality. He allegedly contacted Timothy and Tinny and begged them to accept R25 000 and go to Swaziland. “He wanted us to stop talking to Daily Sun. He deposited R25 000 into my account in the middle of the night,” said Tinny.
The Law Society of South Africa said the lawyer is under investigation by their disciplinary department. Senior secretary in the department, Marisca Jacobs, said the lawyer must account to his client within a reasonable time. “The money belongs to the client, therefore the attorney has no say in how it is utilised unless the client is a minor child or a person with limited mental capacity,” she said.
Jacobs suggests that Timothy approaches another attorney or makes use of their pro bono scheme.
See the Daily Sun’s new website for more on this and other stories....
The Daily Sun is South Africa's largest daily newspaper with an average circulation of 274 165 (Audit Bureau of Circulations 2nd Quarter 2014) and a readership of 5.7m (as per AMPS 2012ab). Its Facebook page can be accessed here. It can be followed on Twitter here. To find about advertising on the Daily Sun click here.
Issued through the Politicsweb iService
