Gatiep grew up in Tafelsig, Mitchell's Plain, an average suburb of Cape
Town, then moved away to attend college and law school. He decided to
come back to Mitchell’s Plain, because he could be a big man in Tafelsig.
He really wanted to impress everyone. So he returned and opened his new
Law office. The first day, he saw a man coming up the sidewalk. He decided to
make a big impression on this new client when he arrived. As the man came
to the door Gatiep picked up the phone. He motioned the man in, while talking. "No. Absolutely no. You tell those clowns in New York that I won't
settle this case for less than one million. Yes. The Appeals Court has agreed
to hear that case next week. I'll be handling the primary argument
and the other members of my team will provide support. Okay. Tell the
State Prosecutor that I'll meet with him next week to discuss the details."
This sort of thing went on for almost five minutes. All the while
The man sat patiently as Gatiep rattled instructions. Finally, Gatiep put down the phone and turned to the man. "I'm sorry for the delay, but as you can see, I'm very busy. What
can I do for you?" The man replied, "I'm from Telkom, I've come to connect your telephone line".