Case Law[2025] ZASCA 115South Africa
Mohlaloga v S (1028/2023; 1112/2023) [2025] ZASCA 115; 2025 (2) SACR 445 (SCA); [2025] 4 All SA 333 (SCA) (8 August 2025)
Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa
8 August 2025
Headnotes
Summary: Criminal Law – s 17(2)(f) of Superior Courts Act 10 of 2013 – application for reconsideration of a decision refusing special leave to appeal – no exceptional circumstances to warrant reconsideration of decision – application struck from the roll. Appeal against sentence – no misdirection – sentence not disproportionate to severity of the offences committed – sentence confirmed.
Judgment
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# South Africa: Supreme Court of Appeal
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## Mohlaloga v S (1028/2023; 1112/2023) [2025] ZASCA 115; 2025 (2) SACR 445 (SCA); [2025] 4 All SA 333 (SCA) (8 August 2025)
Mohlaloga v S (1028/2023; 1112/2023) [2025] ZASCA 115; 2025 (2) SACR 445 (SCA); [2025] 4 All SA 333 (SCA) (8 August 2025)
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sino date 8 August 2025
FLYNOTES:
CRIMINAL – Fraud –
Misappropriation
of funds
–
Abuse
of public trust – Fund established to assist previously
disadvantaged farmers – Misappropriated for personal
gain –
Held a position of trust – Played a pivotal role in
commission of offences – Failed to repay money
despite being
given an opportunity to do so – Lack of remorse –
Prescribed minimum sentence was neither disproportionate
nor
shockingly severe – Appropriately reflected seriousness of
offenses –
Prevention of Organised Crime Act 121 of 1998
,
s
4.
THE SUPREME COURT OF
APPEAL OF SOUTH AFRICA
JUDGMENT
Not Reportable
Case
nos: 1028/2023
1112/2023
In the matter between:
MANYABA
RUBBEN MOHLALOGA
APPLICANT/APPELLANT
and
THE
STATE
RESPONDENT
Neutral
citation:
Mohlaloga v
The State
(1028/2023 and 1112/2023)
[2025] ZASCA 115
(8 August 2025)
Coram:
MOKGOHLOA ADP and KATHREE-SETILOANE JA
and PHATSHOANE, BLOEM and MOLITSOANE AJJA
Heard:
7 March 2025
Delivered:
This judgment was handed down electronically by circulation to the
parties’ representatives by email, publication
on the Supreme
Court of Appeal website and released to SAFLII. The date and time for
hand-down of the judgment is deemed to be
11h00 on 8 August 2025.
Summary:
Criminal Law –
s 17(2)
(f)
of
Superior Courts Act 10
of 2013
– application for reconsideration of a decision
refusing special leave to appeal – no exceptional circumstances
to
warrant reconsideration of decision – application struck
from the roll. Appeal against sentence – no misdirection –
sentence not disproportionate to severity of the offences committed –
sentence confirmed.
ORDER
On
application for reconsideration:
referred
in terms of
s 17(2)(
f
)
of the
Superior Courts Act 10 of 2013
:
1
The application for reconsideration of the decision refusing special
leave to appeal
against conviction is struck from the roll.
2
The appeal against sentence is dismissed.
JUDGMENT
Kathree-Setiloane JA
(Mokgohloa ADP, Phatshoane, Bloem and Molitsoane AJJA concurring):
[1]
This is the reconsideration of a decision of this Court refusing an
application for special leave
to appeal against the order of the
Gauteng Division of the High Court, Pretoria, Neukircher and
Sardiwalla JJ sitting as a court
of appeal (the high court). The high
court dismissed an appeal against the conviction and sentence of the
applicant, Mr Mohlaloga,
by the Regional Court for the Regional
Division Gauteng, Pretoria (the regional court).
Background
[2]
Mr Mohlaloga was accused 2 in the regional court. He was convicted on
one count of fraud (count
1) and one count of contravention of s 4 of
the Prevention of Organised Crime Act 121 of 1998 (POCA) (count 2).
The regional court
sentenced the appellant to 15 years’
imprisonment on each count and ordered that 10 years of the sentence
on count 2 will
be served concurrently with the sentence on count 1.
The effective sentence is 20 years’ imprisonment.
[3]
Mr Mohlaloga appealed his conviction and sentence to the high court.
On 23 January 2023,
the high court dismissed the appeal and
confirmed his conviction and sentence. He applied to this Court for
special leave to appeal
against the dismissal of his appeal by the
high court. Mbatha JA and Unterhalter AJA (as he then was) granted Mr
Mohlaloga special
leave to appeal against sentence but refused leave
against conviction. On 1 September 2023, Mr Mohlaloga applied to the
President
of this Court (the President), in terms of s 17(2)
(f)
of
the Superior Courts Act 10 of 2013 (Superior Courts Act), for a
reconsideration of the decision refusing special leave to appeal
on
conviction. On 3 January 2024, the President referred the decision
for reconsideration and, if necessary, variation to this
Court. She
also referred the application for special leave to appeal for oral
argument in terms of
s 17(2)
(d)
of the
Superior Courts
Act.
[4
]
The application for reconsideration has its genesis in a sector
specific empowerment project: the
Agri Broad Based Black Economic
Empowerment (AgriBBBEE). It was approved by parliament to assist
previously disadvantaged farmers
financially. Its objective
was
to facilitate broad-based black economic empowerment in the
agricultural sector. It aimed to achieve this by implementing
initiatives
to include black South Africans at all levels of
agricultural activity and enterprises along the entire agricultural
value chain,
to contribute to the acceleration of shared growth and
wealth creation in the agricultural sector.
Pursuant to these
objectives, the National Department of Agriculture (the DOA) and the
Land and Agricultural Bank of South Africa
(the Land Bank) created
the AgriBBBEE Fund (the Fund) to facilitate access to equity and
develop small and medium enterprises.
The Fund was
managed and administered by the Land Bank on behalf of the DOA.
It received an amount of R100 million from the National Treasury.
[5]
Applications for funding
were submitted to Mr
Mosoma, the Fund Manager (based at the Land Bank), or directly to the
DOA. They were to be assessed according
to
the requirements of
the
AgriBBBEE Operational Manual (the manual). The
National Advisory Panel (the NAP) was responsible for approving or
rejecting an application
for a grant from the Fund.
[6]
The Land Bank was responsible for concluding a due diligence on the
applications and/or proposed
projects. Project documentation was to
be kept at the Land Bank and had to include: a letter of application
(application form);
business proposal and business plan; all project
documentation requesting funding; assessment of application and
compliance to
criteria eligibility; and a due diligence
investigation. Paragraph 5.5.1 of the manual explicitly provided that
politicians, while
holding public office and government employees do
not qualify and will not be eligible for grants from the Fund.
[7]
Mr Mohlahlane, the first accused in the trial, was employed by the
DOA as Deputy Director General
and was officially seconded to the
Land Bank as the acting Chief Executive Officer (acting CEO) during
August 2007.
Mr Mohlaloga, who was a member of
parliament and the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on
Agriculture (the Portfolio Committee),
at the time, approached Mr
Tjia with a proposal to approach
Mr Mohlahlane
to
discuss the funding of a farming project. As acting CEO of the Land
Bank,
Mr Mohlahlane
was required to report
on the Fund to the Portfolio Committee. Mr Tjia was the CEO of the
Limpopo Youth Commission in the Office
of the Premier of Limpopo.
[8]
Mr Mohlaloga subsequently met Mr Tjia and Mr Nkhwashu, an attorney
and partner at the law firm
Dingamanzi Ka Dinga (DKD attorneys), at
his house in Polokwane. Mr Nkhwashu was the third accused in the
trial and DKD attorneys
was the fourth accused. Mr Mohlaloga, Mr Tjia
and Mr Nkhwashu discussed embarking on a broad-based youth
empowerment project to
empower, educate and employ the youth. Mr
Mohlaloga knew Mr Nkhwashu because he had done some work in the past
for him. During
December 2007, Mr Mohlaloga met with
Mr
Mohlahlane
and discussed the proposed project with
him.
Mr Mohlahlane
asked Mr Tjia how much
money was required for their proposed project. Mr Tjia informed him
that an amount of R500 000 would be sufficient.
Mr Mohlahlane
undertook to submit an application for funding to
the Land Bank.
[9]
Mr Mohlahlane
informed Mr Mohlaloga that
they qualified for a R3 million grant from the Fund. Mr Mohlaloga
relayed this information to Mr Tjia
and Mr Nkhwashu.
With
that knowledge, Mr Mohlaloga and Mr Tjia immediately changed plans
and the idea of a broad-based empowerment program was abandoned.
They
decided to buy a farm on receipt of the grant. It
was apparent, from that point on, that they intended to make a profit
from the
project and it ceased to be a broad-based empowerment
programme.
[10]
Mr Mohlaloga and Mr Tjia then began their search for a farm to buy.
They found a suitable one, at Dendron,
but the purchase price was R4
million. In January 2008, a subsequent meeting was held between Mr
Mohlaloga,
Mr Mohlahlane
, Mr Nkhwashu
and Mr Tjia at Mr Mohlaloga's residence.
Mr Mohlahlane
proposed that Mr Tjia should apply for a grant of
R6 million from the Fund as Mr Mohlaloga was not eligible to apply.
He brought
it to their attention that the manual prohibited serving
politicians from applying and/or benefiting from the Fund.
[11]
On being informed of this, Mr Mohlaloga
instructed Mr Tjia to
make the application.
Mr Nkhwashu
was
appointed as the legal advisor. Mr Tjia drafted the application in
manuscript, while Mr Mohlahlane dictated it to him. On completion
of
the application, Mr Tjia appended his signature to it. Mr Mohlahlane
then undertook to hand this application to Mr Mosoma at
the Fund but
never did so. Mr Mohlahlane did, however, submit a typed version
of the application to the Fund containing a
signature resembling that
of Mr Tjia.
[12]
A few days later, Mr Mohlaloga and Mr Tjia decided
to look for another farm to purchase as they considered Dendron to be
overpriced.
Mr Mohlaloga undertook to inform
Mr Mohlahlane
of
this.
During January 2008,
Mr
Mohlahlane
approached Mr Mosoma at the Land Bank
and handed him the application signed by Mr Tjia. He informed Mr
Mosoma that the Minister
was extremely frustrated
because there was no progress with
empowerment programs and instructed him to prepare the payment
documents. The project was presented
to Mr Mosoma as the
Dingwako
Agricultural Project, to empower the youth in the agricultural
sector. On 23 January 2008, Mr Mosoma, on the
instructions
of
Mr Mohlahlane
,
authorised a request for payment of R6 million. There was no formal
application, no business plan or due diligence performed on
the
project. The application was also never considered or approved by the
NAP.
[13]
A complication arose when there was an audit on the Fund, and Mr
Mosoma had no documents to show. A paper
trail was created and
various documents were falsified in an attempt to mislead the
auditors. There was no contract in place.
Mr Mosoma
decided that the solution would be to call a NAP meeting in order to
have the irregular payment ‘ratified’.
But
for the audit the transaction would never have been discovered.
[14]
On 1 February 2008, R6 million was transferred from the Fund to the
trust account of Mr Nkhwashu’s
law firm (DKD attorneys’
trust account). It reflected in the account on 6 February. This
payment was disbursed largely to
Mr Mohlaloga. Within a period of
three months from date of payment of the R6 million into the DKD
attorneys’ trust account,
an amount of only R22 641.44
remained.
The grant money was depleted, and
not
a cent had been spent for the purpose for which it had been
originally designated by the Land Bank.
[15] Mr
Mohlaloga received the following benefit: On 4 February 2008, R80 000
was transferred from the DKD attorneys’
trust account to his
personal bank account. On 13 March 2008, an amount of R866 150 was
paid to Leo Hasse BMW Hatfield out of the
DKD attorneys’ trust
account for two BMW vehicles registered in the name of Mr Mohlaloga.
A further payment of R2 800 000
was transferred from that trust
account into the bank account of the Disetla Family Trust (Mr
Mohlaloga’s family trust) in
three traches: R800 000 on 1 April
2008; R1 000 000 on 11 April 2008, and R1 000 000 on 12
April 2008.
[16]
Between
7 August 2008 and 13 October 2008, 10 individual payments totalling
R2 290 000 were made from the Disetla Family Trust account
back to
the DKD attorneys’ trust account. This money was almost
immediately paid, in seven instalments between 12 August
2008 and 13
October 2008, to the trust account of Henstock and Van den Heever,
being payment for the farm Schuinshoek.
[1]
[17]
A total of R270 000 was transferred in five transactions between
17 April 2008 and 13 October 2008
to the personal account
of Mr Mohlaloga. He transferred R10 000 to the account of his wife,
bought art for R30 000 and a timeshare
for R61 000. He also bought a
stationary business for a total of R263 771 in January 2009. He made
a payment of R150 000 on 6 August
2008, and a payment of R70 000 on 3
March 2009, to the account of Mr Mokase, the attorney of
Mr Mohlahlane, for the benefit
of Mr Mohlahlane. All the money
used to make the abovementioned disbursements was Landbank/Fund
money. As a result, the grant of
R6 million was totally
exhausted.
[18]
Mr Tjia and Mr Mosoma gave evidence in the trial for the state. They
were witnesses in terms of s 204 of
the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of
1977 (the
Criminal Procedure Act). Mr
Söhnge gave evidence on
the flow of the money. He was a properly qualified chartered
accountant with Price Waterhouse Coopers
at the time and conducted
the forensic investigation.
[19]
The issue for determination in this application is whether there are
exceptional circumstances that warrant
a reconsideration of the
application refusing leave to appeal on conviction.
Exceptional
Circumstances
[20] In
Motsoeneng
v South African Broadcasting Corporation Soc Ltd and Others
,
[2]
this Court held that the
court to which the decision refusing leave to appeal is referred, is
required as a threshold question to
determine whether there are
exceptional circumstances that warrant a referral for
reconsideration. More recently, in
Bidvest
Protea Coin Security (Pty) Ltd v Mandla Wellem Mabena (Bidvest),
[3]
this Court endorsed that
position when it held that the court to which the referral is made is
‘to be the ultimate arbiter
as to whether the jurisdictional
fact for the exercise of the power exists’. Thus, before this
Court may proceed to reconsider
the decision of the high court
refusing leave to appeal, Mr Mohlaloga is required to demonstrate
that there are exceptional circumstances
that warrant a
reconsideration of the decision refusing leave to appeal.
[21]
As held by the Constitutional Court in
Liesching
and Others v S
,
[4]
exceptional circumstances
envisaged in
s 17(2)
(f)
of the
Superior Courts
Act are
circumstances which give rise to a probability of grave
individual injustice, or the administration of justice might be
brought
into disrepute if no reconsideration occurs. This formulation
has been adopted by the legislature in the amendment to
s 17(2)
(f)
which came into effect on
3 April 2024. Since this matter was referred by the President to this
Court for reconsideration on 3 January
2024, the old formulation of
s
17(2)
(f)
still applies.
[22]
Mr Mohlaloga sets out, in his
s 17(2)
(f)
application for
reconsideration, what he claims to be exceptional circumstances that
warrant a reconsideration of the decision
refusing leave to appeal as
follows:
‘
It
is respectfully submitted that the blatant misapplication of
fundamental legal principles, particularly pertaining to charge
sheets, the evaluation of the evidence of the
s 204
witness, Mr Tjia,
and the negligible application of the doctrine of common purpose, in
stark contrast to the trite principles
set out in
S
v Safatsa and Others
,
[5]
are at the very least
‘atypical’ and unprecedented’, with due regard to
the particular facts of the matter, and
therefore constitute
exceptional circumstances which justify the relief sought in this
application.
I
verily believe that due and adequate consideration will be given to
this application in terms of
s 17(2)(
f
)
of the Act, as a failure to do so, with the greatest of respect, and
a failure to refer the application to the Justices who refused
leave
to appeal, will result in an irreparable injustice which will be so
grave that it would essentially, redefine the approach
courts have to
adopt regarding averments in charge sheets and the State’s
burden to prove same. It will further lead to an
untenable precedent
promoting a notion that to defy the principles espoused in
S
v Van der Meyden
,
[6]
followed by a myriad of
Judgments of this Court how to approach evidence in the criminal
cases and evaluating it. If the Judgment
of the Court of Appeal
(Court below) stands, it will amount to irreparable harm to me, the
administration of justice, and the public
at large. It will,
moreover, with respect, inevitably lead to a travesty of justice,
that will profoundly impact on our criminal
procedure, criminal law
and the law of evidence.
In
addition to the assertions advanced above, it is compelling, with
respect, to also deal with the principles espoused in the seminal
judgment of
S
v Hugo
.
[7]
These principles are
imbued in our law and imparts on the trier of fact the obligation to
apply same. A deviation of these principles
is fatal. Despite this,
the principles, as contemplated in
S
v Hugo
(supra)
were totally ignored, and yielded a conviction of fraud, which by any
stretch of imagination was impossible.
It
is trite that the conclusion which is reached by a court (whether it
be to convict or to acquit) must account for all the evidence
–
good or bad. The s 204 witness, Tjia, conceded that not a single one
of the misrepresentations alleged in the charge sheet
were made, or
that the appellant had the requisite
mens rea
to commit these
misrepresentations and a fraud. The Court of Appeal, who granted him
indemnity from prosecution, does not take
this into account at all.
The Court of Appeal found Tjia’s evidence to be satisfactory in
all material respects and found
him to be a credible witness, whilst
simply ignoring the exculpatory evidence, which was presented by the
very same witness. This
approach flies in the face of the principles
espoused in
S v Van der Meyden
.
The
conviction in terms of contravening both 4
(a)
and 4
(b)
of
POCA flows from a complete disregard for the elements of the
statutory offence as are contained in the ordinary wording of the
statute. There exists simply no evidence to sustain this conviction.
It is imperative for legal certainty that the Supreme Court
of Appeal
pronounces on the proper interpretation of the statute and the
purview of the offences it creates.’
[23]
I am unable to find that exceptional circumstances exist in this case
that warrant a reconsideration of the
decision refusing leave to
appeal. The errors which the high court is said to have made
ultimately turn on the evaluation of the
evidence and findings of
fact and law which have been raised before in Mr Mohlaloga’s
appeal in the high court, and in his
application for special leave
which was refused by two judges of this Court.
[24]
The error relating to Mr Mohlaloga’s conviction under s 4
(a)
and
(b)
of POCA turns on the
application of the law to the facts. The charge sheet alleges that
Mr Mohlaloga is guilty of the contravention
of s 4
(a)
and/or s 4
(b)
of POCA. The regional
court convicted Mr Mohlaloga on count 2 as charged. On appeal, the
high court found that the evidence established
Mr Mohlaloga’s
guilt in respect of both s 4
(a)
and
4
(b)
of
POCA. Although this is a finding in law, it was raised before by Mr
Mohlaloga in the appeal before the high court, and in the
application
for special leave to appeal which was refused by two judges of this
Court. As held by this Court in
Avnit
v First Rand Bank Ltd
,
[8]
‘
an application
that merely rehearses the arguments that have already been made,
considered and rejected will not succeed, unless
it is strongly
arguable that justice will be denied unless the possibility of an
appeal can be pursued’. Accordingly, I am
of the view, that Mr
Mohlaloga has failed to demonstrate that the so-called errors which
he seeks to appeal against constitute
exceptional circumstances such
that, if not reconsidered, would result in a grave injustice or place
the administration of justice
into disrepute.
[25]
Mr Mohlaloga has accordingly been unable to meet the heightened
threshold to demonstrate exceptional circumstances.
In the
circumstances, the application for reconsideration of the refusal of
the application for leave to appeal against sentence
falls to be
struck from the roll.
Appeal
against Sentence
[26]
It
is well established that sentencing involves the exercise of a
discretion by the trial court, and an appeal court cannot interfere
with that discretion unless it is not judicially exercised, in that
the trial court committed a misdirection on a material aspect
or that
the sentence is so severe that it induces a sense of shock.
[9]
[27] Mr
Mohlaloga’s primary ground of appeal is that an effective term
of 20 years’ imprisonment on
both counts is shockingly
disproportionate to the convictions of fraud and money laundering. In
addition, he contends that the
regional court erred in failing to
find that there are substantial and compelling circumstances which
justified a lesser sentence
on his conviction on fraud.
[28] With
reference to the sentence on count 1 (fraud), s 51(2)
(a)
(
i
)
of the Criminal Law Amendment Act 105 of 1997 (CLAA) applies. It
prescribes a minimum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment
for a
first offender convicted of an offence in Part II of Schedule 1,
which includes fraud where the amount exceeds R500 000.
The minimum
sentence is applicable unless the trial court finds that there are
substantial and compelling circumstances that warrant
a lesser
sentence. The minimum sentence applies to Mr Mohlaloga’s
conviction on count 1.
[29] In
relation to this count, the regional court considered all the
mitigating and aggravating factors and concluded,
correctly so, that
there are no substantial and compelling circumstances that justified
a lesser sentence. The regional court considered
the following
factors in mitigation of sentence: Mr Mohlaloga was 46 years old
at the time of sentencing; he was a first offender;
he was married
with three minor children and two adult children; his wife was
unemployed; he supported the extended family, including
his mother,
mother-in-law, sister and her husband; he was highly educated and
graduated from the University of London.
[30] The
mitigating factors must, however, be weighed up against the
aggravating factors: These are that Mr Mohlaloga
played a pivotal
role in the commission of the offences while he was an elected member
of parliament and Chairperson of the Portfolio
Committee on
Agriculture. In electing him to parliament, the electorate put their
trust in Mr Mohlaloga. He, however, abused that
trust by perpetrating
the crime of fraud against the Fund which was funded by taxpayers’
money. Mr Mohlaloga understood,
as a member of parliament, that he
was not eligible to apply for a grant from the Fund. The manual set
this out unequivocally.
So, to overcome this impediment, he
instructed Mr Tjia to make the application in his name.
[31]
AgriBBBEE was a noble project that was intended to uplift and empower
previously disadvantaged and emerging farmers
in the agricultural
sector to progress to commercial farming. As chair of the Portfolio
Committee to which the Land Bank, through
Mr Mohlahlane,
reported on the Fund, he was enjoined to protect
the money in the Fund and ensure that it was allocated to the
intended recipients.
Instead, he colluded with other public officers
to defraud the Fund for self-benefit. Mr Mohlaloga, including
Mr
Mohlahlane
and Mr Nkhwashu, committed the offences
out of pure greed. There is no evidence that they needed the money to
survive.
[32] Mr
Mohlaloga was the principal beneficiary of the grant. The R2 800 000
that was transferred into the Ditsetla
Family Trust, was for him to
use for his personal benefit. Mr Mohlaloga and his family were the
beneficiaries of the trust. Despite
being highly educated,
well-connected and successful, he believed that he was entitled to
the grant from the Land Bank and could
do with it as he pleased. He,
therefore, justified purchasing two BMW motor vehicles with the grant
money – one for himself
and the other for his wife – and
using it to buy a stationary business, art, etc.
[33]
By the end of April 2008, there was no money left for the project.
A
total amount of R3 600 000 was paid to Mr Mohlaloga. Except for the
R2 800 000 that was repatriated to pay for the farm, nothing
has been
paid back. Mr Mohlaloga only bought the farm as a smoke screen to
prevent detection and fool the auditors.
He failed
to recognise that the grant was intended to empower disadvantaged
people in the agricultural sector, and that by defrauding
the Fund,
he was denying those who most needed its financial assistance.
[34]
It is inconceivable that Mr Mohlaloga did not know what the purpose
of the grant was, and that it was directed
at empowering previously
disadvantaged people. Despite being given an opportunity to repay the
money by the regional court, Mr Mohlaloga
failed to do so. It is
clear from his testimony during the trial that he lacked remorse. He
remained adamant that
the grant money belonged to him and
repeatedly stated: ‘I do not know what you mean by Land Bank
money, because once the money
is approved and given to the
beneficiary, it belongs to the beneficiary’.
These
factors weighed heavily against Mr Mohlaloga in the regional court.
Thus, having considered the mitigating and aggravating
circumstances,
the regional court cannot be faulted for concluding that that there
were no substantial and compelling circumstances
which warranted a
deviation from the minimum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment
on the conviction of fraud.
[35] I now
deal with the appeal against the sentence of 15 years’
imprisonment imposed in respect of count 2.
Section 8(1) of POCA
provides that a person convicted of a contravention of s 4, 5, or 6
shall be liable to a fine not exceeding
R100 million or to
imprisonment for a period not exceeding 30 years’ imprisonment.
In the circumstances, a sentence of 15
years’ imprisonment
cannot be said to be overly severe. Acting out of mercy, the regional
court allowed 10 years of that
sentence to run concurrently with the
sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment for the fraud conviction. In
my view, the effective
sentence is proportionate to the severity of
the offences of fraud and money laundering as contemplated in s 4 of
POCA.
[36]
Corruption and white-collar crime in state-owned entities lead to
economic decline, job losses, more poverty, and
reduced public trust.
Unless those convicted of such crimes receive appropriate sentences,
public confidence and participation
in government institutions would
be completely eroded, leading to increased inefficiencies and
possible collapse.
[37]
Thus, having regard to the
Zinn
[10]
triad
of the gravity of the offences committed by Mr Mohlaloga, his
circumstances and the public interest, I am of the view that
an
effective sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment is not shockingly
inappropriate. For these reasons, the appeal against sentence
must
fail.
[38] In the
result, I make the following order:
1
The application for reconsideration of the decision refusing leave to
appeal against
conviction is struck from the roll.
2
The appeal against sentence is dismissed.
F KATHREE-SETILOANE
JUDGE OF APPEAL
Appearances
For
the appellant:
F
Roets
Instructed by:
Krause Attorneys Inc,
Johannesburg
Honey
& Partners Inc, Bloemfontein
For
the respondent:
AG
Janse van Rensburg
Instructed
by:
Director
of Public Prosecutions, Pretoria
State
Attorney, Bloemfontein.
[1]
The only money that was
repatriated to the DKD attorneys’ trust account is R2 800 000
referred to above, and two payments
totalling R470 000 on 12 and 13
December 2008. According to the evidence led in the regional court,
the latter amount was received
when Mr Mohlaloga sold one of the BMW
cars to Mr Ebrahim of ISCARS.
[2]
Motsoeneng v South
African Broadcasting Corporation Soc Ltd and Others
[2024]
ZASCA 80
; 2024 JDR 2195 (SCA) para 14.
[3]
Bidvest Protea Coin
Security (Pty) Ltd v Mandla Wellem Mabena (Bidvest)
[2025]
ZASCA 23
;
2025 (3) SA 362
(SCA) para 13.
[4]
Liesching
and Others v The State
[2018]
ZACC 25
;
2019 (4) SA 219
(CC);
2018 (11) BCLR 1349
(CC);
2019 (1)
SACR 178
(CC) para 138.
[5]
S v Safatsa and
Others
1988
(1) SA 868 (A).
[6]
S v Van der Meyden
1999 (1) SACR 447 (W).
[7]
S v Hugo
1976 (4) SA 536 (A).
[8]
Avnit v First Rand
Bank Ltd
[2014]
ZASCA 132
;
[2014] JOL 32336
(SCA) para 6.
[9]
S
v De Jager
1965
(2) SA 616
AD at 628-629.
[10]
S v Zinn
1969
(2) SA 537
(A) 540G-H.
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