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Citation
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Judgment date
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| November 1983 |
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The accused convicted of murder and unlawful firearm possession after credible eyewitness and forensic corroboration.
Criminal law – murder – assessment of credibility of eyewitnesses and consistency with forensic evidence as basis for conviction. Criminal law – unlawful possession of firearm and ammunition – admissible corroborative physical evidence. Evaluation of an accused’s version – improbability and inconsistencies may justify rejection and support conviction.
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18 November 1983 |
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Statutory presumption of dealing from possession upheld; appellant failed to rebut and convictions and sentences affirmed.
Criminal law – Narcotics – Possession and statutory presumption of dealing under s10(1)(a) of the Drugs Act (Act 41/1971) – burden shifts to accused to rebut presumption on balance of probabilities – credibility findings of police evidence and rejection of accused’s explanations – convictions and sentences upheld. |
8 November 1983 |
| October 1983 |
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Leave to appeal and bail pending petition refused where trial evidence credible and no reasonable prospect of success.
Criminal procedure – application for leave to appeal against conviction for murder with extenuating circumstances – assessment of credibility – inferences from proved facts – R v Blom (1939) acknowledged but error immaterial – no reasonable prospects of success; bail pending petition refused.
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28 October 1983 |
| September 1983 |
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2 September 1983 |
| August 1983 |
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22 August 1983 |
| May 1983 |
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Conviction for murder upheld on witness and circumstantial evidence; provocation and alleged memory loss insufficient to negate intent; leave to appeal sentence refused.
Criminal law – Murder – Multiple stab wounds and surrounding conduct as evidence of intent to kill; witness and circumstantial corroboration. Criminal law – Defence of provocation – ordinary insulting words in marital context insufficient to reduce murder to culpable homicide. Criminal procedure – Effect of alleged memory loss – medical evidence of amnesia does not automatically negate intent where other evidence establishes deliberate conduct. Appeal – Leave to appeal against sentence – discretionary, refused where no reasonable prospect of interference.
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26 May 1983 |
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Leave to appeal refused where disputes are factual, appeal lacks reasonable prospects and stake is small.
Civil procedure – leave to appeal – test whether reasonable prospect of success – appellate restraint on factual findings (R v Dhlumayo) ; Negligence and causation – appeal based on factual findings unlikely to succeed; Costs – joinder of third party, Randalia Assuransie applied; small monetary exposure and absence of legal question relevant to leave.
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23 May 1983 |
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23 May 1983 |
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Circumstantial evidence and a credible extra-judicial confession established guilt; appeal and further-evidence applications refused.
Criminal law — Circumstantial evidence — Sufficiency to convict when cumulative facts exclude reasonable alternative inferences; weight of extra-judicial confession to a private person; credibility of accused's lies; refusal of leave to adduce further evidence and refusal of leave to appeal.
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18 May 1983 |
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Accused’s self‑defence account was rejected; credible eyewitness and medical evidence supported convictions for attempted murder and murder, with no mitigation.
Criminal law — Murder and attempted murder — Eyewitness credibility and medical evidence establishing fatal shot through heart. Self‑defence — Accused's version improbable; not reasonably possibly true on the evidence. Sentencing — Alcohol consumption and alleged impulsivity not sufficient mitigating circumstances; death sentence imposed for deliberate fatal shooting. Appeal — Leave to appeal refused where no reasonable court could differ.
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16 May 1983 |
| March 1983 |
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A s112(2) guilty plea with a signed factual statement sufficed to convict the respondent of eight fraud counts.
Criminal procedure – plea in terms of section 112(2) – signed factual statement read into the record – prosecutor declines to call evidence – conviction on admitted fraud counts (bad cheques).
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3 March 1983 |
| November 1982 |
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Accused’s self‑defence claim rejected; court found dolus eventualis and convicted of murder, sentencing to ten years.
Criminal law – Homicide – Self-defence – requirements of imminence, necessity and proportionality – rejection where attack not imminent and force excessive. Criminal law – Murder – dolus eventualis established where accused foresaw risk of death and acted recklessly. Sentence – mitigating factors (provocation, intoxication, lack of premeditation) do not negate conviction but may reduce sentence. Procedure – application for leave to appeal refused where no reasonable prospect of success. |
3 November 1982 |
| September 1982 |
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Court sanctioned compromise, holding secured creditor was not a separate class and disclosure to creditors was adequate.
Companies Act — s 311/312 — meetings of classes of creditors; test for class division: legal rights (secured/preferent/concurrent) primarily determine classes; separate meetings only where conflicting interests prevent collective consultation; adequacy of explanatory statement under s 312; sanctioning compromise — court's discretion and Dorman Long test; evidence required to prove undue pressure on creditors; costs against unwarranted opposition.
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30 September 1982 |