A warrant of arrest has been issued for Eastern Cape advocate and former SA National Boxing Control Commission chief executive Mava Malla, after he failed to appear in court for his fraud case on Monday.
Malla is accused of stealing money from a client, James Mnyamana, and failing to provide the legal services he was paid for.
The Legal Practice Council (LPC), a regulatory body for legal professionals, confirmed that Malla could be struck from the roll if a high court order was granted in its favour.
The LPC is in the process of filing the application after Malla reportedly failed to respond to the misconduct charges levelled against him and did not pitch up at the disciplinary hearing.
The internal charges against him are linked to a theft case before the Gqeberha regional court, which was supposed to be heard on Monday.
When contacted by The Herald after the court proceedings, Malla seemed shocked, saying: “Is it already April 13th? I thought it is still March. I will go to court now.”
Malla said he would be in court early on Tuesday to deal with the matter.
However, a court insider said that police would still have to execute the warrant until he appeared in court.
Gqeberha regional court magistrate Tobie Gerber issued the warrant after Specialised Commercial Crimes Unit prosecutor Edmyrach Matabata told the court that Malla had not communicated anything about his absence.
A court orderly also stepped outside to call his name to no avail.
In the afternoon, Malla said he’d had a chat with Matabata and would be in court early on Tuesday.
Malla said he had lost track of the days after he was involved in a manhunt at the weekend for thieves who allegedly stripped seven cars on his farm in Nxuba (formerly Cradock).
This incident, Malla said, was reported to the police in February.
But, he said, information came through that led to the arrest of the suspects involved.
Malla said he also represented a client facing allegations related to copper cables at the Cradock Magistrate’s Court on Monday.
The last time he appeared before court was March 2 when he indicated that his attorney had died and that he would need to appoint a new legal representative.
Malla said appointing an attorney would be better than representing himself to avoid being emotional during arguments.
Mnyamana told The Herald in December that he had lost nearly R20,000 and some of his assets when Malla allegedly failed to provide the legal services he had paid for.
According to the provisional charge sheet, on November 20 2019 near the Nxuba regional court, Malla allegedly “unlawfully and intentionally stole R19,850 from James Mnyamana”.
The charge sheet also stated that at the time Malla allegedly accepted the funds, he was not entitled to do so.
According to the provisions of the Legal Practice Act, as a registered advocate, Malla must receive all instructions through an attorney.
The money paid by the client must also be held in the attorney’s trust account.
In this case, the money was allegedly paid into Malla’s personal bank account and there was no instructing attorney.
He also allegedly failed to provide the services the client had paid for.
The charge sheet states further that he had allegedly done this under false pretences to induce Mnyamana to brief him and pay him.
Mnyamana said he had filed a complaint with the LPC after Malla allegedly failed to deliver on his promises dating back to 2019.
He also laid a criminal complaint against him.
He said he drove from De Aar in the Northern Cape, where he lived, to Nxuba to meet Malla.
Mnyamana said he had asked Malla to file an urgent application to the high court on his behalf to interdict matters relating to the estate of his wife, Nombulelo Sauls, who died from liver cancer in 2019.
Mnyamana said he had since lost some of the assets, which he had bought jointly with his wife, because their marriage was not registered with home affairs.
According to the LPC sanction dated April 1 2025, Malla was ordered to pay compensation amounting to R19,300 including interest to Mnyamana.
In the sanction, there were two other complainants involved who had submitted separate complaints against Malla.
They were Nandipha Tembo, an official in the Eastern Cape education department, who alleged that she paid him R100,000, and Elijah Takonze, who said R17,200 was paid to Malla under similar circumstances.
The LPC ruled against Malla, instructing him to also pay back R100,000 to Tembo and R17,200 to Takonze with interest.
LPC’s director in the Eastern Cape, Alfred Hona, said the court application had not been finalised.
“As stated, council took a decision to strike his name off the roll and this has not yet been finalised,” Hona said.
Tembo had been embroiled in a marathon legal battle involving corruption and fraud charges relating to the irregular procurement of R2.7m personal protective equipment for schools.
The tender was awarded to Alinani Trading. Her co-accused include her husband, Theophilus Tawanda Tembo, and her brother, Mandilakhe Magwangqa.
Tembo said they had tried to serve Malla with a summons in KuGompo City, formerly East London, but the sheriff could not find him.
“He had already left for Cradock where he is based most of the time,” Tembo said.
She alleged that Malla took their money under the pretence of being a trust account advocate.
“He never drafted a single document for us,” she said.
Tembo said their court matter was sub judice but indicated that she was “cleared internally” by the department.
However, Eastern Cape education department spokesperson Malibongwe Mtima denied this, saying she was found guilty of misconduct.
“We docked her two months’ salary,” Mtima said.
Attempts to obtain comment from Takonze were unsuccessful.
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