Case Law[2024] ZAGPPHC 362South Africa
Mmotla and Others v S (A99/2018) [2024] ZAGPPHC 362 (10 April 2024)
High Court of South Africa (Gauteng Division, Pretoria)
10 April 2024
Headnotes
each of the accused had actively associated themselves with the common purpose and were thus liable for the acts of all, even it had not been proven that the conduct of any individual amongst the accused had causally contributed to the death of the deceased. If the doctrine were to be applied in this case, each of the appellants would be liable for the actions of all of their co-conspirators.
Judgment
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## Mmotla and Others v S (A99/2018) [2024] ZAGPPHC 362 (10 April 2024)
Mmotla and Others v S (A99/2018) [2024] ZAGPPHC 362 (10 April 2024)
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IN
THE HIGH COURT OF SOUTH AFRICA
GAUTENG
DIVISION, PRETORIA
Case
number: A 99/2018
Date
of hearing: 26 March 2024
Date
delivered: 10 April 2024
REPORTABLE
OF
INTEREST TO OTHER JUDGES
REVISED
DATE:
10/04/2024
In
the matter between:
# SEEMA
MOSA MMOTLA
First
Appellant
SEEMA
MOSA MMOTLA
First
Appellant
# MICHAEL
MATHE Second
Appellant
MICHAEL
MATHE Second
Appellant
# ZAKHELE
MASUKU Third
Appellant
ZAKHELE
MASUKU Third
Appellant
MZANE
WAYNE
MARANELE Fourth
Appellant
and
THE
STATE
Respondent
JUDGMENT
SWANEPOEL
J: (Leso AJ and Kok AJ concurring)
# INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
[1] If
ever a law school needed to use a criminal case as a case study to
illustrate to students how not
to prosecute a matter, this case would
be ideal. The case is riddled with prosecutorial missteps, starting
with a badly drafted
charge sheet. Then, having charged the
appellants with theft of a motor vehicle, the prosecutor led no
evidence that the vehicle
was in fact stolen. The appellants were
also charged with murder, without the cause of death (or the chain of
custody in respect
of the bodies of the deceased) being proven, and
on the charge of possession of firearms, no ballistic evidence was
led regarding
the allegedly recovered firearms, and there is also no
chain of custody of the alleged firearms. To add insult to injury,
the prosecutor,
when faced with an application for the discharge of
the appellants in terms of section 174 of the Criminal Procedure Act,
51 of
1977 ("CPA"}, enthusiastically argued for their
discharge, when the basis for the application was obviously flawed.
[2] The
saga started in early 2011 when the first appellant approached his
cousin, Mr. Jan Sithole ("Sithole")
with a proposal. The
first appellant was then a serving police officer, and Sithole was
employed as the driver of a cash-in-transit
van. The first appellant
proposed a plan whereby he would rob Sithole's van at an agreed place
and time. Sithole's assistant, Mr.
William Makela ("Makela")
was also drawn into the plan.
[3] Sithole
and Makola disclosed the plan to their employer, and he, in turn,
enlisted the assistance of
the police. The latter approached the
Director of Public Prosecutions who authorized the use of a trap in
terms of section 252
A of the CPA.
[4] After
two fruitless dry runs by the robbers on 7 February and 14 February
2011, Makola told the first
appellant that unless the robbers carried
out the plan on 22 February 2011, he would not participate.
[5] On
the morning of 22 February 2011 the cash-in-transit van, driven by
Sithole, approached the Unifees
Primary School where it was scheduled
to pick up money. A green/blue Condor vehicle had stopped at a nearby
river, and had allegedly
transferred three robbers to the back of a
white Nissan one-ton LDV. It is common cause that the Condor was
driven by the second
appellant. The Nissan then travelled towards the
school with the three men on the back of the vehicle, and one
passenger sitting
in the front with the driver. Unbeknown to the
robbers, the police had set a trap and were waiting at the school to
apprehend them.
[6] When
the cash-in-transit van arrived at the school it was approached by
the Nissan vehicle, driven by
the fourth appellant The robbers
alighted from the vehicle and started shooting at the cash-in
transit van. One of the robbers
tried to chop open the window of the
van, and another robber poured petrol over the van. Sithole and
Makole tried to escape by
driving off and a shootout ensued between
the robbers and the police officers. The Nissan came to a standstill
a short distance
away from
the
school.
When
the
shootout
ended,
three
robbers
were
dead.
The third appellant
was apprehended next to the Nissan, having sustained a gunshot wound.
The fourth appellant, the driver of the
vehicle, was also
apprehended. Three firearms were recovered at the scene.
[7] Some
distance away, the first appellant was found observing the scene from
a white Volkswagen Polo. The
second appellant was apprehended at the
green Condor, approximately three kilometers from the school.
[8] The
appellants were charged as follows:
[8.1] Attempted
murder, for having shot at the police in an attempt to kill them
(count 1);
[8.2] One
shot had penetrated a school class window where there were allegedly
children in class, and consequently
the appellants were charged with
attempted murder on the children (count 2);
[8.3] The
appellants were charged with three charges of murder in respect of
their three dead co-conspirators
(counts 3 to 5);
[8.4] Conspiracy
to commit a robbery, read with the minimum sentence provisions in
section 51 (2) of the
Criminal Law Amendment Act, 105 of 1977 ("the
Act") (count 6);
[8.5] Robbery
with aggravating circumstances, for having allegedly robbed the van
of an unspecified amount
of money, read with the provisions of
section 51 (2) of the Act (count 7);
[8.6] Unlawful
possession of a firearm, to wit a 9 mm pistol (count 8);
[8.7] Unlawful
possession of a 9 mm Vector pistol (count 9);
[8.8] Unlawful
possession of a .38 Taurus Special firearm (count 1O);
[8.9] Theft
of a Nissan LDV (count 11);
[8.10] Unlawful
possession of 17 rounds of ammunition (count 12).
[9] The
appellants were convicted on all counts.
# COMMON
PURPOSE
COMMON
PURPOSE
[1O] Of
much significance is the prosecution's failure to allege in the
charge sheet that the State relied
on the doctrine of common purpose.
Generally, a perpetrator is only liable for his/her own acts or
omissions. The doctrine of common
purpose is applied by the courts to
hold a person, who acts in concert with others to commit a crime,
liable for the acts of all
of the persons who carry out the common
purpose. In S
v
Safatsa
[1]
a
large group of people had attacked a person in his home, ultimately
killing him. Eight persons from the group were charged with
murder.
The defence argued that it was not possible to causally connect the
actions of any one of the accused to the death of the
deceased. The
Court held that each of the accused had actively associated
themselves with the common purpose and were thus liable
for the acts
of all, even it had not been proven that the conduct of any
individual amongst the accused had causally contributed
to the death
of the deceased. If the doctrine were to be applied in this case,
each of the appellants would be liable for the actions
of all of
their co-conspirators.
[11] In
Msimango
v The State
[2]
the
Supreme Court of Appeal held:
[3]
"[14] It
is common cause that in convicting the appellant on count 3, the
regional magistrate relied
upon the doctrine of common purpose even
though it was never averred in either the charge sheet or proven in
evidence. It was impermissible
for the regional magistrate to have
invoked the principle of common purpose as a legal basis to convict
the appellant on count
3 as this never formed part of the state's
case.
[15] Undoubtedly,
the
approach
adopted
by
the
regional
magistrate
of relying
on
common
purpose
which
was
mentioned
at
the
end
of
the
trial is inimical to
the spirit and purport of s 35 (3) (a) of the Constitution of the
Republic of South Africa, Act 108 of 1996
(the Constitution) under
the heading 'Arrested, detained and accused persons'. In fact it is
subversive
of
the
notion
of
a
fair
trial
which
is
contained
in
s
35
(3)
(a)
of the Constitution
which provides in clear terms that:
'(3) Every
person has the right to a fair trial, which right includes the right-
(a) to
be informed of the charge with sufficient details
to
answer
it."'
[12] Neither
the presiding officer nor the prosecutor even mentioned the doctrine
of common purpose during
the trial, but it is clear that it is upon
the application of this doctrine that the appellants were ultimately
convicted. Instead
of considering the causal connection between the
acts of each of the appellants and the offence, the court accepted
(without saying
so), that they had acted in furtherance of a common
purpose, and they were each convicted as if they had individually
committed
each of the charged acts. In doing so, the court erred, and
it is necessary for this Court to consider the acts of each appellant
individually to determine their guilt or innocence.
# SECTION
252 A OF THE CPA
SECTION
252 A OF THE CPA
[13] Before
the Court considers the actions of each appellant in relation to the
offences, it is necessary
to deal with the contention of the first
appellant that the police's conduct in setting up the trap was such
as to go beyond merely
providing the appellants with the opportunity
to commit the robbery. Section 252 A (1) of the CPA reads as follows:
(1) Any
law enforcement officer, official of the State or any other person
authorized thereto for such purpose
(hereinafter referred to in this
section as an official or his or her agent) may make use of a trap or
engage in an undercover
operation in order to detect, investigate or
uncover the commission of an offence, or to prevent the commission of
any offence,
and the evidence so obtained shall be admissible
if
that conduct does not go beyond
providing an opportunity to
commit an offence:
Provided that where the conduct goes beyond
providing an opportunity
to
commit an offence a court may
admit evidence so obtained subject to subsection (3)." (my
emphasis)
[14] The
evidence is that the first appellant initiated the scheme. He called
Sithole to discuss the plan.
Sithole initially told the first
appellant that he was no longer employed as a cash-in-transit driver,
but later he approached
the first appellant and told him that he was
again so employed. The first appellant argued that by doing so
Sithole enticed the
first appellant to commit the offence, thus going
further than merely providing the opportunity to commit the offence.
[15] I
disagree. Sithole's actions amounted to no more than advising the
first appellant that if her were
to continue with his plan, Sithole
would remain involved. That is per definition what is meant by
"providing an opportunity"
to commit the offence.
[16] The
first appellant also argued that Makola enticed the robbers by
insisting on 21 February 2011 that
if they did not commit the robbery
on 22 February 2011 he would no longer participate. I disagree with
this contention as well.
Makola did not tell the first appellant to
commit the offence; he told him that if he did not do so by 22
February 2011 he would
not remain involved.
[17] In
S
v Matsabu
[4]
the
complainant was tasked by the police with trapping corrupt traffic
officials who solicited bribes from the public. When the
complainant
was faced with a possible fine for speeding, she repeatedly suggested
by inuendo that the traffic official should consider
an alternative
to a fine, resulting in her then paying a bribe of R 300.00. Her
conduct went further than simply remaining supine
and waiting for the
traffic official to ask for a bribe. The Court said
[5]
:
"As
the
section
contemplates,
a
trap
may
usefully
be
employed
to
set
up a
situation
of which
a
corruptly-inclined
official
may
take advantage. The
provision of an attractive opportunity is the essence of a successful
trap and the legislature recognizes that
fact in
s
252A.
It
draws the line however at conduct which literally or figuratively
lays a bait for the unsuspecting official by encouraging the
commission of a crime. But the complainant's behaviour was
essentially neutral. She did not tempt, entice or suggest any
unlawful
line of conduct."
[18] The
Court held that the evidence regard·1ng the trap was
admissible. In my view the conduct of
the complainant in
Matsabu
went
much further in encouraging or enticing the traffic official to
commit the offence than anything that either Sithole or Makola
did in
this case. In
S
v Wana6
a
trap was held to be in accordance with section 252 A where the
conspiracy
to commit the offence and the terms of the conspiracy had been agreed
at an early stage, and what followed was merely
the planning of the
robbery. In my view, this matter is on all fours with
Wana
[6]
.
The
first appellant conceived of the plan to rob the cash-in-transit van.
He approached Sithole. Neither Sithole nor Makole were
involved in
the planning of the robbery. Once the first appellant had initiated
the plan, he had some two weeks to reconsider whether
to proceed or
not. The robbers conducted two dry runs, and even though they were
put
off
by
the presence of the police on one occasion, they decided,
nevertheless, to carry out the robbery on 22 February. At no stage
did either Sithole or Makole encourage the first appellant to proceed
with the robbery.
[19] The
argument that there was somehow something underhanded about the fact
that neither Sithole nor Makole
knew that they were so called
"agents" of the police is without foundation. There is no
reason for the police to
explain the technicalities of the section
252 A trap to its agents. There is no magic in the term "agent",
and whether
Sithole and Makela knew that they were agents or not does
not detract from the fact that all that they did was to provide the
robbers
with an opportunity to commit the robbery. It follows,
therefore, that the evidence relating to the trap ls admissible.
THE
CHARGES
[20] As
far as the robbery charge is concerned, the evidence is that no money
was stolen, and I am unable
to understand how the appellants could
have been charged with robbery in the first place. At best for the
State the appellants
committed attempted robbery. The appeal against
the conviction on count 7, robbery, must succeed.
[21] Counsel
for the appellants argued that the appellants had never envisaged
that the situation would become
out of control, and that a shootout
would ensue. It was never their intention to rob the van, but only to
steal the money with
the co-operation of the crew of the van.
Therefore, the appellants say, they can only be convicted of
attempted theft of money.
[22] I
disagree. Firstly, there is no evidence to support this contention as
none of the appellants testified
about their intentions. The actions
of the robbers on the scene also belies this argument. Immediately
after alighting from the
Nissan the robbers started shooting at the
van, attempting to chop open its window. They poured petrol over the
van, obviously
to force the crew to open the doors. If it had been
agreed that the crew would meekly surrender the money, none of these
actions
would have been necessary, and they would not have had to
carry firearms. There is no merit in this argument, and I find that
the
robbers' intention was clearly to commit a robbery.
[23] The
murder charges require the State to prove, in the absence of the
application of the common purpose
doctrine, that the actions of each
of the appellants were causally connected to the death of the
deceased. There is no such evidence.
Not only is ii common cause that
the first and second appellants were not at the scene of the
shooting, and no firearms were found
in their possession, there is no
evidence that either the third or fourth appellants fired any shots.
All of the appellants must
therefore be acquitted on the murder
charges.
[24] As
far as the possession of the firearms charges are concerned, the same
applies. There is no evidence
that any of the appellants possessed
any of the firearms found on the scene. The evidence relating to the
scene, and what and whom
was found at which point was confusing, to
say the least. One would have expected the prosecution to provide a
detailed drawing
of the scene, depicting where each firearm was found
and where each robber was found. Perhaps then one could have come to
a finding
on the circumstantial evidence as to which robber possessed
which firearm, if any. Furthermore, had the prosecution alleged
common
purpose in the charge sheet, the appellants could possibly
have been convicted as active associates in the possession of the
firearms,
albeit that the firearms may have been in the possession of
the other robbers. In the absence of the application of the common
purpose doctrine, the appellants must be acquitted.
[25] Unfortunately,
the attempted murder charges are hit with the same problem. There is
no evidence that
the third or fourth appellants fired any of the
shots that hit the school, nor that either third or fourth appellant
fired at the
police. In fact, the evidence is that the first and
second appellants never fired a shot. The actions of the appellant's
co-conspirators
cannot, in these circumstances, be attributed to the
appellants.
[26] In
respect of the charge of theft of a motor vehicle, the Nissan, there
is no evidence that the vehicle
was stolen. The best evidence for the
State is that of Warrant Officer Loock, the investigating officer,
who testified that the
Nissan was tested by "some of the members
on the scene" and was found to have been stolen at Phukeng. That
evidence is
obviously hearsay, and has no evidentiary value.
# THE
EVIDENCE AGAINST THE APPELLANTS
THE
EVIDENCE AGAINST THE APPELLANTS
[27] It
now falls to me to consider the acts of each of the appellants in
relation to the charges of conspiracy
to commit aggravated robbery,
and the attempted robbery itself.
[28] There
is no doubt the first appellant was the initiator of the plan to rob
the van. Not only did he
propose to Sithole and to Makole that they
should commit the offence, he continued to liaise with them as the
plan unfolded.
[29] Early
on the morning of the robbery, the first appellant spoke by telephone
with the fourth appellant.
He spoke to Judas Mabasa, one of the
deceased robbers, four times between 4h36 and 9h27 on 22 February,
and also to Peter Mosekogomo,
another deceased robber, four times
between 5h26 and 9h32. The first appellant also spoke to the fourth
appellant at 23h43 on the
evening before the robbery. The first
appellant received a call from Sithole at 9h29, whereafter he called
Mosekogomo again at
9h32. At 9h19, shortly before the robbery, he
received another call from Sithole. At that stage the first appellant
was in the
vicinity of the robbery. The inescapable conclusion is
that the first appellant was coordinating the robbery. He was present
at
the scene of the robbery, albeit some distance away from
the school and from the point where the Nissan was eventually brought
to
a halt. It is highly likely that he was acting as a lookout. The
first appellant did not testify, nor was the evidence of Sithole
and
Makole, to the effect that he was the initiator of the scheme, ever
disputed. The first appellant is therefore guilty of conspiracy
to
commit aggravated robbery.
[30] The
obvious question is then whether the acts perpetrated by the first
appellant also constitute attempted
aggravated robbery. In
S
v Nooroodien
[7]
the Court held that where an accused is part of the conspiracy to
commit a murder, and the conspiracy is then carried out, that
accused
is liable to be convicted as a co-perpetrator, and it is not
necessary to rely on the principles of the common purpose
doctrine.
That approach is applicable to this case, in my view. The first
appellant not only conspired to rob the van, he was involved
in the
execution of the plan.
[31] The
second appellant poses a different problem. He was seen some three
kilometers from the scene of
the robbery by Mr. Gert De Klerk, a
police officer of unknown rank. De Klerk says that he observed the
Condor driving off the main
road towards the river. He observed the
driver and three occupants in the vehicle. He was able to describe
the clothing and appearance
of some of the occupants. After
approximately five minutes the Nissan appeared. The three occupants
climbed onto the back of the
Nissan. He then heard shots fired at
approximately 9h50. De Klerk's evidence is the only evidence that
implicated the second appellant
in the offence.
[32] Initially,
the second appellant did not testify. However, after he appointed a
different legal representative,
he sought leave to reopen his case,
which as granted. He testified that he had travelled from Mabopane on
his way to a scrap yard
near Onderstepoort to look for spare parts.
The Condor belonged to him, although it was not registered in his
name. He saw a large
number of vehicles displaying flashing lights,
some of them driving on his side of the road. There were passengers
in those vehicles
who were standing out of the sun roofs. The second
appellant said that he had to move out of the way of these other
vehicles, so
he turned to the right onto a side road, trying make a
u-turn. He drove some 25 meters onto the side road at which point he
stopped
his vehicle.
[33] A
police officer came running towards the Condor. He told the second
appellant to move away because
the police were busy at the scene. The
second appellant then heard gunshots, and as he was about to leave, a
second police officer
came to speak to the first officer. The second
officer was evidently De Klerk. He knew De Klerk from a previous
incident when De
Klerk had arrested him. He said that De Klerk
arrested him because had a score to settle with the second appellant
because the
first arrest had resulted in a civil judgment against the
state. The second appellant denied De Klerk's version of events
entirely.
[34] It
is not in dispute that De Klerk and the second appellant knew one
another from before this incident,
and that De Klerk had previously
arrested him. The only evidence linking the second appellant with the
offence is that of De Klerk.
The second appellant is also the only
accused who testified. His version under oath is consonant with the
version put by his erstwhile
legal representative, and with his
affidavit in support of a bail application which was brought shortly
after his arrest.
# EVALUATION
EVALUATION
[35] A
court of appeal may not lightly interfere with credibility findings
of the trial court.
[8]
The
reason for that principle is clear: a trial court hears the evidence,
observes the witnesses, and is in the best position to
evaluate the
quality of the evidence and the veracity of the witnesses. In this
case the presiding officer made no finding on the
credibility of
either the second appellant nor of De Klerk. He seems to have simply
accepted that because the second appellant
was arrested on the scene
(albeit 3 kilometers from the school), he must have been involved.
[36] In
S
v Van der Meyden
[9]
the
court (per Nugent J), in emphasizing that one cannot merely consider
the one side of the coin, but must weigh both the evidence
of the
state and the evidence of the accused said:
"These
are not separate and independent tests, but the expression of the
same test when viewed from opposite perspectives.
In order to
convict, the evidence must establish the guilt of the accused beyond
reasonable doubt, which will be so only if there
is at the same time
no reasonable possibility that an innocent explanation which has been
put forward might be true. The two are
inseparable, each being the
logical corollary of the other.
In
whichever form the test is expressed, it must be satisfied upon a
consideration of all the evidence. A court does not look at
the
evidence implicating the accused in isolation in order to determine
whether there is proof beyond reasonable doubt, and so
too does it
not look at the exculpatory evidence in isolation in order to
determine whether it is reasonably possible that it might
be true."
[37] The
presiding officer accepted that De Klerk's evidence was credible,
without considering the exculpatory
evidence of the second appellant.
In doing so the court
a quo
erred. In these circumstances this
Court is entitled to come to its own conclusion on the credibility of
the two witnesses. It is
also not necessary for the Court to
subjectively believe the second appellant. The question is whether
his evidence is reasonably
possibly true. Even if his version is
improbable, the second appellant is entitled to the benefit of doubt.
His version has to
be held to be false beyond a reasonable doubt for
it to be rejected.
[38] The
cell phone records reveal that there was no communication between the
first and second appellants.
The second appellant was allegedly
providing transport to three of the five robbers who carried out the
robbery. The absence of
any communication between first and second
appellants before the robbery leaves some question marks as to the
second appellant's
involvement in the robbery. In my view, one cannot
say that the second appellant's version is false beyond a reasonable
doubt.
For these reasons the second appellant's appeal against
conviction must succeed.
[39] As
far as the third and fourth appellants are concerned, they were part
of the group of robbers who
attacked the cash-in-transit van. They
were both wearing gloves when they were arrested, obviously to
prevent any forensic evidence
from being left behind. By their
presence on the back of the Nissan, they were actively associating
themselves with the offence,
and whether they fired any shots or not,
they are co-perpetrators in the robbery.
[40] The
final issue to consider is whether the conviction on count 6,
conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery,
and count 7, aggravated
robbery, constitutes a duplication of convictions. It has been an
entrenched principle in our law over
a span of more than 150 years
that it is impermissible to convict an accused on two offences, when
in reality only one offence
has been committed. Particularly, courts
have held that where a conspiracy to commit an offence precedes the
completion of the
offence, a conviction on both the conspiracy and
the completed offence is impermissible.
[10]
[41] Consequently,
if the first, third and fourth appellants' appeal against the
conviction on aggravated
robbery is unsuccessful, the appeal against
the conviction on count 6 must succeed.
# SENTENCE
SENTENCE
[42] The
sole
conviction that
will
therefore
stand
is
the
conviction of
the first, third and
fourth appellants on attempted robbery (count 7). There is no minimum
sentence applicable to attempted robbery,
as the provisions of Part
II of Schedule 2 to the
Criminal Law Amendment Act, 107 of 1997
relate to the completed offence of aggravated robbery.
[43] This
Court must, given the aggravating and mitigating evidence which is
already on record, impose a
sentence which is appropriate in the
circumstances. The Court must consider the personal circumstances of
the appellants, the seriousness
of the offence, and the interests of
the community. The first, third and fourth appellants have been in
custody since their arrest
on 22 February 2011. They were sentenced
more than six years later, on 31 August 2017. In imposing sentence,
the court a
quo
did not take their pre-sentence incarceration
into account. The appellants' personal circumstances are unremarkable
and do not justify
any great degree of mitigation. On the other hand,
cash-in-transit robberies are extremely prevalent in Gauteng. As in
this case,
cash-in-transit robbers do not hesitate to use deadly
force, and often innocent lives are lost. The community requires the
courts
to impose appropriate sentences in such cases in order to
deter other persons from committing such offences.
[44] Although
the first, third and fourth appellants' conviction on the murders,
the possession of the firearms
and ammunition, and the attempted
murders is to be set aside, it is only so because of a simple error
on the part of the prosecution.
Had the prosecutor paid attention to
the charge sheet by inserting an allegation that the State alleged
that the robbers were acting
with common purpose, the appellants
would likely have been convicted of murder, which, in this case,
carries a minimum sentence
of life imprisonment, and on the attempted
murder and unlawful possession of firearms charges. I do not believe
that it is inappropriate
to take into account that three lives were
lost in this incident, and that there was an attempt to kill other
persons.
[45] In
the
circumstances
I
make
the
following
order:
[45.1] The
appeal against the appellants' conviction on counts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,
8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 is upheld
and the order of the court a quo is
amended to read:
"Accused
1 to 4 are acquitted on counts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12"
[45.2] The
second appellant's appeal against the conviction on count 7 is upheld
and the order of the court
a quo is amended to read:.
"Accused
no. 2 is acquitted on count 7."
[45.3] The
first, third and fourth appellants' appeal against conviction on
count 7 is upheld to the extent
that the court
a quo's
order
is amended to read:
"Accused
nos.
1,
3 and 4 are found guilty of attempted robbery."
[45.4] The
first, second and third appellants' appeal on sentence in respect of
count 7 is upheld, and the
order of the court a quo is amended to
read:
"On
count 7 the first, second and third accused are sentenced to 15
(fifteen) years' imprisonment, which shall be calculated
from 22
February 2011.
SWANEPOEL
J
JUDGE
OF THE HIGH COURT
GAUTENG
DIVISION, PRETORIA
LESO
AJ
ACTING
JUDGE OF THE HIGH COURT
GAUTENG
DIVISION, PRETORIA
KOK
AJ
ACTING
JUDGE OF THE HIGH COURT
GAUTENG
DIVISION, PRETORIA
COUNSEL
FIRST APPELLANT: Adv
Ledeloane
COUNSEL
FOR SECOND APPELLANT: Adv
P Pistorius SC
COUNSEL
FOR THIRD APPELLANT: Mr.
H Moldenhauer
COUNSEL
FOR FOURTH APPELLANT: Adv
M Botha
COUNSEL
FOR THE STATE: Adv
S Lalane
DATE
HEARD: 26
March 2024
DATE
OF JUDGMENT: 10
April 2024
[1]
1988
(1) SA 868
(A)
[2]
2018
(1) SACR 276 (SCA)
[3]
At
[14] to (15]
[4]
2009
(1) SACR 513
(SCA)
[5]
At
para 16
[6]
Unreported
ECP CC 16/213 (dated 20 March 2015)
[7]
1998
(2) SACR 51O
(NC); See also: Gqirana v The State (unreported Eastern
Cape Bisho case no. CA&R/2008); S v Sauls and Others
1981 (3) SA
172
(A) at 182 D
[8]
S
v Francis
1991 (1) SACR 198
(A) at 198 J -199 A; S v Monyane and
Others
2008 (1) SACR 543
(SCA) at para 15
[9]
1999
(1) SACR 447
(W) at448 F-I
[10]
S
v Sasson
[2000] ZACC 25
;
2001 (1) SACR 1
(T); S v Agliotti
2011 (2) SACR 437
(GSJ)
sino noindex
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