GroundUp reports that a KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) magistrate accused of lying on his application forms for acting appointments, and of failing to disclose that he had been suspended from practice by the Legal Practice Council (LPC) for misappropriation of trust funds, has been suspended without pay pending a disciplinary inquiry.

KwaDukuza magistrate Ian Blose faces three charges of misconduct relating to declarations he made in the integrity section of a pre-interview questionnaire. Another charge relates to events after Blose’s permanent appointment in February 2021. The LPC in January 2022 obtained an order in the Pietermaritzburg High Court in suspending him from practising as a legal practitioner, which Blose allegedly failed to disclose. Magistrates’ Commission spokesperson and ethics committee chair advocate Naome Manaka confirmed that Blose had been provisionally suspended by the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs in November 2025.

The suspension is without salary because the commission considered the “seriousness of the charges and the probable sanction should he be found guilty”. Manaka advised that Blose had been given an opportunity to respond to the allegations prior to his suspension. She said the commission would appoint a presiding officer and an evidence leader and the disciplinary hearing should proceed next year.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Tania Broughton at GroundUp

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