Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa - 2008 December

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7 judgments

Citation	Judgment date
December 2008
Narainsingh v Singh and Another (217/2008) [2008] ZASCA 168 (2 December 2008) Reported SCA reinstated summary judgment for rent and ejectment, granted judgment for occupation/rates, but refused purchase-price and sale-cost claims. Civil procedure – summary judgment – requirements for defence on affidavit – oral lease: absence of ancillary clauses irrelevant to claim for rent – deed of sale: need for pleaded particulars to allege invalidity under Alienation of Land Act – ejectment: summary judgment appropriate where no defence disclosed.	2 December 2008
S v Van Aardt (179/2008) [2008] ZASCA 169 (2 December 2008) Reported Sustained assault and deliberate withholding of medical aid established dolus eventualis; murder conviction and sentence affirmed. Criminal law – murder – sustained and vicious assault followed by deliberate refusal to obtain medical assistance – dolus eventualis established from cumulative evidence; exact fatal blow or weapon need not be proved.* State proof – intent may be inferred from nature, duration and severity of assault and post-assault conduct.* Sentence – 12 years’ imprisonment upheld as within permissible range.	2 December 2008
Highveld Steel and Vanadium Corporation Ltd v Oosthuizen (103/2008) [2008] ZASCA 164 (1 December 2008) Reported A pension fund may withhold payment pending finalisation of an employer’s claim for loss from a member’s alleged dishonesty. Pension funds – section 37D – deduction/withholding of benefits pending employer’s claim for theft/dishonesty; purposive interpretation of s 37D; interplay with s 37A and fund rules; appealability of refusal to intervene.	1 December 2008
Lebowa Platinum Mines Limited v Viljoen (733/2007) [2008] ZASCA 163 (1 December 2008) Reported Whether a former employee who remains with consent after dismissal qualifies as an "occupier" under ESTA. Extension of Security of Tenure Act — meaning and timing of "occupier" status; s8(2)–(3) (employee occupants); prescribed income exclusion (R5,000); assessment at date consent to occupy ceases or when eviction proceedings commence; Hallé v Downs disapproved insofar as it extends relevant date.	1 December 2008
National Lotteries Board v Bruss and Others (730/2007) [2008] ZASCA 167 (1 December 2008) Reported The applicant may seek declaratory relief; SMS-paid charity competitions are unlawful lotteries, not promotional competitions. Lotteries Act – s 10(d) implied power to institute proceedings to police and enforce Act; meaning of 'subscription' includes premium-rate SMS and postcard entry; promotional competition requires dominant purpose to promote sale/use of goods or services – fundraising competitions are not promotional competitions; unauthorised lotteries prohibited by ss 56–57.	1 December 2008
Shunmugam and Others v National Democratic Convention (73/2008) [2008] ZASCA 165 (1 December 2008) Reported Unlawful expulsions do not deprive councillors of party membership or their Schedule 6B floor-crossing rights. Constitutional law – Floor crossing (Schedule 6B) – Effect of party expulsions on municipal councillors’ entitlement to cross the floor. Administrative law – Validity of expulsions – Direct attack on substantive validity versus Oudekraal principle. Interim consent orders – Construction and effect on party membership and Schedule 6B rights. Remedies – Declaratory relief and costs, including costs of two counsel where employed.	1 December 2008
S v Mavinini (224/2008) [2008] ZASCA 166 (1 December 2008) Reported Whether an unchallenged police identification and delayed statement defeat conviction, and whether the maximum statutory sentence was justified. Criminal law — Identification evidence — Reliability of unchallenged police identification at close range at night; delay in police statement not necessarily fabrication if corroborated — Accused’s silence may strengthen otherwise strong identification evidence — Sentencing — Minimum-sentence regime under Act 105 of 1997; maximum sentence disproportionate where minimum adequately reflects seriousness.	1 December 2008