Indefinite imprisonment in South Africa: The difference between life and indefinite imprisonment

In May 2018, Pieter Van Tonder was sentenced to indefinite imprisonment in the Cape High Court. Van Tonder brutally assaulted and murdered the 16-month old baby of his ex-girlfriend. This case happened shortly after the Grahamstown High Court sentenced Lonwabo Solontsi, dubbed in the media as ‘South Africa's worst serial rapist’ to indefinite imprisonment after being convicted of 39 counts of rape and 28 other serious crimes. In both cases, the accused committed extremely serious offences. However, the imposition of indefinite imprisonment is not commonly heard of. This prompted the question: What is the difference between life imprisonment and indefinite imprisonment? This factsheet seeks to address these differences and also defines the concepts of being declared a dangerous versus a habitual criminal in terms of the Criminal Procedure Act

Understanding Oscar’s sentence: Sentencing under Section 276(1)(i) of the Criminal Procedure Act

The recent announcement of the imminent, and subsequently suspended, release on correctional supervision of Oscar Pistorius has attracted significant media attention. For many his possible release is confusing as he was sentenced to a maximum of five years imprisonment for culpable homicide and in addition a concurrent three-year prison term, suspended for five years, for the separate offence of reckless endangerment for firing a firearm in a restaurant. However, after serving only ten months, he was about to be released. The answer to this apparent confusion lies in the sentencing provisions of the Criminal Procedure Act (i.e. s 276(1)(i)) when read together with a provision in the Correctional Services Act (i.e. s73(7)(a). This CSPRI Fact Sheet explains how this particular sentence works

Failing to discipline in SAPS - Fostering a culture of impunity

It is with unfortunate regularity that we read reports in the media about corrupt South African Police Service (SAPS) officials and officials implicated in other crimes, including human rights violations. Indicative of the scale of the problem is that the Ethics Institute found that for the first time bribes for police matters and criminal charges moved into the top five of categories of bribes reported, with 7% of respondents reporting that they knew someone that were asked to pay a bribe to the police. This translates to nearly one in ten South Africans. Soliciting bribes on such a scale is deeply damaging to public trust and confidence in the police. Moreover, the prevalence of the problem indicates that there is a perception amongst a substantial number of police officials that nothing can or will happen when soliciting a bribe even if it is reported. This raises serious questions about the enforcement of internal discipline in SAPS as the prevalence of bribery is indicative of the extent to which internal discipline is enforced in the organisation

The appointment and dismissal of the NDPP: Instability since 1998

The position of National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) has emerged since 1998 as one of the most unstable positions in government. This can to a large degree t be ascribed to how appointments and dismissals are made. Instability at the top of the NPA and several acting NDPPs gives credence to claims of political interference. Not one NDPP has served the full term of ten years. Since 1998, when the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) came into being, there have been five permanently appointed NDPP’s and three acting NDPPs. The longest serving NDPP was Bulelani Ngcuka who was in the position for 6 years, followed by Mokothedi Mpshe in an acting capacity at nearly three years and Vusi Pikoli for just more than two and half years

National Prosecuting Authority Performance

The National Prosecuting Authority of South Africa (NPA) was created by legislation which came into effect in August 1998, and became a stand-alone entity in 2002/3, whereas previously it was more closely embedded in the Department of Justice. Although spending and employment on prosecutions have increased markedly since inception, commensurate returns on that investment have not been apparent from official data

The right to a fair trial and being hearing impaired

The Cape High Court recently (27 August 2018) overturned on appeal the conviction and sentence of a 62-year old man convicted in the Wynberg Regional Court of murder because the trial court failed to protect his right to a fair trial by not making special arrangements for his hearing and speech impairment, the refusal to admit potentially crucial testimony, and the negative bias of the presiding officer. In Kruse v S (Case no. A 100/2018) the High Court was scathing of the trial court for its lack of sensitivity and understanding in dealing with hearing and speech impaired accused persons despite good precedent existing in law. Kruse was convicted in 2015 for the shooting to death of one Nashief Davids, an act he claimed was committed in self-defence, and upon conviction was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment, of which five years were suspended conditionally for five years

Expungement of a criminal record Crimes committed by a child

Expungement removes the criminal record of your conviction from the Criminal Record Centre of the South African Police Service (SAPS). This allows a person to carry on with life without a criminal record being an obstruction to employment opportunities or a source of discrimination

NPA Accountability, trust and public interest

This discussion document deals with three key concepts associated with the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and its relation to the public, namely accountability, public interest and trust. It is presented that for the NPA to be regarded as a legitimate institution it needs to enjoy trust and in order to enjoy such trust, it needs to be seen and perceived to act in the public interest in an accountable manner

Expungement of a criminal record May 2018 Crimes committed by an adult

Expungement removes the criminal record of your conviction from the Criminal Record Centre of the South African Police Service (SAPS).This allows a person to carry on with life without a criminal record being an obstruction to employment opportunities or a source of discrimination. An expunged record does not exist, which means youdon’t need to declare it