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Citation
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Judgment date
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| November 2024 |
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The court imposed life imprisonment for the rape of a minor, citing no circumstances to warrant deviation.
Criminal law - Rape - Sentencing - Minimum life imprisonment for the rape of a minor - No deviation justified
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19 November 2024 |
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Court excludes evidence from unconstitutional warrantless search lacking reasonable grounds.
Criminal law – warrantless searches – justification under section 22 of the Criminal Procedure Act 51/1977 – constitutional rights – exclusion of evidence obtained through unconstitutional search
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13 November 2024 |
| September 2024 |
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Court finds accused guilty of rape, affirming credibility of child witness and corroborative medical evidence.
Criminal law – Rape – Evaluation of evidence – Credibility of child victim – Corroborative medical evidence
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12 September 2024 |
| August 2024 |
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Court finds substantial and compelling reasons to deviate from life imprisonment for a young first-time offender convicted of rape.
Criminal Law – Rape – Sentencing considerations – substantial and compelling circumstances – deviation from minimum life imprisonment – suitability for correctional supervision.
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19 August 2024 |
| June 2024 |
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Court sentences rapist and reaffirms minimum sentencing norms emphasizing community protection and justice system confidence.
Criminal Law - Sentencing - Rape - Minimum Sentences - Social Impact and Judicial Responsibility
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28 June 2024 |
| May 2024 |
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On the totality of credible complainant testimony and medical evidence, the accused was convicted of rape; consent must be affirmatively communicated.
Criminal law – Sexual offences – Rape – Single-witness complainant evidence assessed in context of totality of evidence; medical proof of fresh perineal injuries supports penetration; consent requires affirmative communication; silence/passivity not consent; Browne v Dunn obligations and impact of breaches on defence evidence.
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16 May 2024 |
| April 2024 |
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Court convicted accused of two sexual-offence counts; complainant credible and medical evidence confirmed penetration.
Criminal law — Sexual offences — sufficiency of evidence and proof of penetration; credibility assessment of single complainant; corroboration by medical and independent witness evidence; refusal of section 174 discharge.
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30 April 2024 |
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Application for leave to appeal a life sentence for rape with intent to cause grievous harm was refused due to lack of misdirection.
Criminal Law – Sentencing – Appeal against sentence – Minimum sentence for rape with intent to cause grievous bodily harm – Discretionary misdirection and individual circumstances in sentencing
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16 April 2024 |
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Court suspended a four-year sentence for sexual assault with community-based conditions and a publication ban on the complainant.
Sentencing — sexual offences — individualized sentencing and proportionality; denunciation and deterrence vs rehabilitation; suspended (community) sentence with punitive and restorative conditions; restitution as punitive element; ancillary orders — firearms fitness and publication ban on complainant.
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8 April 2024 |
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Private defense does not justify excessive force, resulting in murder conviction without premeditation.
Criminal law – Private Defense – Limits on reasonable force – Murder conviction without premeditation.
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5 April 2024 |
| March 2024 |
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Whether intoxication-induced memory loss negated capacity to consent; court found reasonable doubt and acquitted the accused.
Sexual offences — Consent is subjective; capacity to consent is a precondition — Intoxication and blackout do not automatically negate capacity — State must prove incapacity or lack of consent beyond reasonable doubt — Circumstantial evidence and prior relationship relevant to credibility but not dispositive — Section 174 discharge considerations where multiple inferences arise.
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27 March 2024 |
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Court imposes 15 years for rape and 8 years for attempted murder, considering compelling circumstances and proportionality.
Criminal Law – Sentencing – Rape and Attempted Murder – Substantial and compelling circumstances – Proportionality in sentencing
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20 March 2024 |
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The court addressed the culture of delay in criminal proceedings, emphasizing the right to timely trials.
Criminal procedure – Unreasonable delay – Effects on fair trial rights under section 35 – Measures to prevent future delays.
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19 March 2024 |
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Court convicts the accused of rape and attempted murder, affirming the credibility of the complainant's testimony.
Criminal law – Rape and attempted murder – Issues of credibility and reliability of witnesses – Assessment of identification evidence.
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13 March 2024 |
| February 2024 |
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Court imposed 18 years for child rape after finding proportionality and alcohol intoxication amounted to substantial and compelling circumstances.
Criminal law — Sexual offences against children — Sentencing principles — Section 51 Criminal Law Amendment Act (mandatory life) — Substantial and compelling circumstances — Proportionality and parity — Alcohol intoxication as mitigation — Ancillary orders: publication ban, sex‑offender registry, declaration unsuited to work with children, social‑welfare interventions.
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26 February 2024 |
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Complainant credible and supported by medical evidence, but total evidence left reasonable doubt; respondent acquitted.
Criminal law – Sexual offences – single-witness child complainant – corroboration by medical evidence – presumption of innocence and reasonable doubt – delays and memory gaps – credibility assessment.
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22 February 2024 |
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The accused was acquitted due to reasonable doubt regarding the complainant’s capacity to consent.
Criminal law – Sexual offences – Consent – Presumption of innocence – Burden of proof on the State – Sufficiency of intoxication as a factor for incapacity to consent
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16 February 2024 |
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Failure to attend court requires objective mens rea; accused convicted and given a suspended restorative sentence.
Criminal law — Failure to attend court (s170, s188 CPA) — mens rea required — objective standard: intention, wilful blindness, recklessness — burden on accused under s170(2) — s193 competency inquiry premature in absence — sentencing: restorative justice, suspended fine/term
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14 February 2024 |
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Application for leave to appeal refused due to lack of reasonable prospect of success and material impact on conviction.
Criminal Procedure – Leave to Appeal – Reasonable Prospect of Success – Discrepancies in Dates – Single Witness Testimony Credibility
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8 February 2024 |
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Application to admit prior sexual history under section 227 dismissed; relevance and prejudice balancing decisive.
Criminal Procedure Act 51/1977 s227 – admissibility of prior sexual experience; relevance threshold and statutory factors; prohibition of twin‑myth inferences; limited exceptions for prior negotiations/customs; probative value versus prejudice.
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7 February 2024 |
| January 2024 |
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Credible single witness testimony, corroborated by medical evidence, led to a conviction in sexual assault.
Criminal law – Sexual Offences – Credibility assessment of single witness testimony – Use of medical evidence for corroboration – Evaluation of victim blaming claims in a trial context.
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26 January 2024 |
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Court imposes 20-year sentence for murder, considering rage-driven act and compelling circumstances for reduced term.
Criminal Law - Murder - Sentencing - Consideration of substantial and compelling circumstances for deviation from minimum sentence.
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22 January 2024 |
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Court discharged the accused due to insufficient evidence and unreliable testimony from the complainant.
Criminal Law – Sexual offences – credibility of witness testimony – mentally disabled complainant – section 174 discharge
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16 January 2024 |