Journalist says Dr Nandipha Magudumana decides to bring, Anton Katz SC, A Tip international law advocate

Information reaching Kossyderrickent has it that Journalist says Dr Nandipha Magudumana decides to bring Anton Katz SC, A Tip international law advocate. 

Taking to social media, popular South African tabloid, Barry, revealed the Gist to her followers, especially to those on Twitter. 

Barry wrote: “Dr Nandipha decided to bring Anton Katz SC, A Tip international law advocate. Nandi is not taking chances.”

Advocate Anton Katz has left the Cape Bar after almost 30 years, saying in his resignation letter, the majority of the members of the council do not appear to “demonstrate attitudes and values [he associates] with collegiality, general fairness and quite simply, a sense of constitutionalism”.

Katz says when he became a member of the Cape Bar in 1990, he found general racist and sexist attitudes prevalent. While these have improved, these attitudes are still evident in the legal profession generally. In addition, he lambasted the Cape Bar for its “authoritarian mind set”, which he says still remains part of the culture of the bar.

other advocates — Kessler Perumalsamy and Eshed Cohen (also a member of our CT community) — Katz would be joining the team from the NPA and The Department of Justice, working to finalise the formal extradition of brothers Atul and Rajesh Gupta from the UAE, where they were recently arrested, to face charges related to state capture and corruption, in South Africa.

When Justice Minister Ronald Lamola made an appeal earlier this year at the annual meeting of the Law Society, for members of the profession to make available their legal services to the prosecution of corruption-related charges, Katz responded by offering his services. His resignation was sparked by a recent furore over the bar’s housing policy. The Cape Bar’s constitution requires members to keep chambers approved by the Bar Council, unless exempt.

As Katz’s practice does not necessitate he keep chambers approved by the council, he applied in August to be exempt from this policy.

His request followed a denied application to sublet his bar-approved chambers three years ago, and permission to share the chambers with a junior colleague which was awarded two years ago.

Katz is considered a leading expert in the field, and has appeared in all of the country’s superior courts on extradition-related matters. News of his inclusion in the team is being hailed as a great boost to the case.