S v Nhlapo; S v Van Heerden; S v Mofokeng (A213/17) [2017] ZAGPPHC 307 (25 April 2017)

S v Nhlapo; S v Van Heerden; S v Mofokeng (A213/17) [2017] ZAGPPHC 307 (25 April 2017)

The court held that the summary enquiries into the accused's failure to appear were incorrectly conducted under section 170(2) of the Criminal Procedure Act. The circumstances of the accused, who were released on bail and failed to appear, fall under section 67A of the Criminal Procedure Act, not section 170. Section 67A criminalises such conduct but does not empower the court to conduct a summary enquiry. Therefore, the convictions and sentences imposed in all three matters were not in accordance with justice and must be set aside.

Citation
[2017] ZAGPPHC 307
Parties
Applicant: The State; Respondent: Lerato Nhlapo; Respondent: Ockert Johannes van Heerden; Respondent: Papi Jacob Mofokeng
Court
North Gauteng High Court, Pretoria
Jurisdiction
South Africa
Judgment Date
25 April 2017
Case Number
A213/17
Procedural Posture
Criminal Review / Special Review
Outcome
Convictions and sentences in all three matters are set aside.
Judges
Potterill, S.S. Mphahlele
Legal Topics
Failure to Appear, Summary Enquiry, Section 67a Cpa, Section 170 Cpa
Criminal Law Civil Procedure Failure to Appear Summary Enquiry Section 67a Cpa Section 170 Cpa

Case Brief

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Parties

The State

Applicant

Lerato Nhlapo

Respondent

Ockert Johannes van Heerden

Respondent

Papi Jacob Mofokeng

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Criminal Review / Special Review

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the summary enquiries into the accused's failure to appear were correctly conducted under section 170(2) of the Criminal Procedure Act.
  2. 2 Whether section 67A of the Criminal Procedure Act should have been applied instead of section 170.
  3. 3 Whether the convictions and sentences imposed were in accordance with justice.

Ratio Decidendi

The court held that the summary enquiries into the accused's failure to appear were incorrectly conducted under section 170(2) of the Criminal Procedure Act. The circumstances of the accused, who were released on bail and failed to appear, fall under section 67A of the Criminal Procedure Act, not section 170. Section 67A criminalises such conduct but does not empower the court to conduct a summary enquiry. Therefore, the convictions and sentences imposed in all three matters were not in accordance with justice and must be set aside.

Court Disposition

Convictions and sentences in all three matters are set aside.

Orders

  • The convictions in all three matters are set aside.
  • The sentences imposed in all three matters are set aside.