Criminal Law — Sexual Assault — Appeal against conviction — Appellant convicted of sexual assault of administrative assistant — Evidence presented by complainant and corroborating witness deemed credible and reliable — Appellant's defence of fabrication due to political factionalism rejected as implausible — No material contradictions in complainant's testimony — Conviction upheld as the State proved guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
Constitutional Law — Right to a fair trial — Access to e-readers for trial preparation — Awaiting trial detainees applied for permission to use Kindle devices to prepare for their trial involving extensive documentary evidence — Applicants argued that denial of access infringed their constitutional right to a fair trial under sections 35(3) and 35(3)(b) of the Constitution — Court ordered the provision of e-readers to facilitate adequate preparation for the trial, emphasizing the necessity of adequate facilities for a fair trial.
Criminal law — Sentence — Rape of a minor — Appellant convicted of raping his fifteen-year-old stepdaughter — Minimum sentence of life imprisonment prescribed under section 51(1) of the Criminal Law Amendment Act 105 of 1997 — Absence of substantial and compelling circumstances justifying deviation from minimum sentence — Familial breach of trust and psychological harm to the complainant considered — Appeal against sentence dismissed as not disproportionate or shockingly inappropriate.
Labour Law — Unfair Dismissal — Substantive fairness of retrenchment — Employees dismissed following a retrenchment process — Union challenging the substantive fairness of the dismissals on grounds of lack of commercial rationale, failure to consider alternatives, and unfair selection criteria — Court finding that the Defendant failed to prove the substantive fairness of the dismissals as required by section 192(2) of the Labour Relations Act — Dismissals declared substantively unfair.
Divorce — Amendment of particulars of claim — Application for leave to amend particulars of claim in divorce proceedings to change from shared to primary residence of minor child — Respondent opposing amendment on grounds of prejudice due to pending appeals — Court finding that proposed amendment serves the child's best interests and does not prejudice the respondent, as it relates to the substantive issue of primary residence rather than interlocutory matters — Application for leave to amend granted.
Contract — Lease agreements — Fraudulent misrepresentation — Plaintiff sought damages from first defendant for liquidated damages due to alleged fraudulent manipulation in lease agreements for a pipe storage yard — Plaintiff concluded contract with NRB for pipeline project requiring CPG sub-contractors, with first defendant appointed as such — Dispute arose over change of site for storage yard and legitimacy of lease agreements — Judgment granted against first defendant for payment of R4 516 375.10 and R2 871 706.48, with interest and costs, while claims against second defendant dismissed and relief against third defendant adjourned sine die.
Stay of execution — Urgent application for stay of execution of Labour Court order — Applicant seeking stay pending petition for leave to appeal — Court considering principles of urgency and stay under Rule 45A and s 18 of the Superior Courts Act — Irreparable harm to applicant if stay not granted — Discretion of the Court exercised in favour of granting stay — Costs awarded against respondents for unreasonable conduct in pursuing execution.
Labour Law — Review Application — Condonation for late filing — Applicant sought condonation for late delivery of review application regarding two rulings by the CCMA, including a finding of unfair labour practice and an order for compensation. The applicant's explanation for the delay was based on pursuing internal remedies before filing for review. The application was unopposed, and the court found that good cause had been shown for the delay, with no prejudice demonstrated to the respondents. The court granted condonation for the late filing of the review application.
Criminal Law — Rape — Appeal against conviction — Appellant convicted on two counts of rape; appeal against conviction based on alleged failure of the State to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt — Evidence of single witness corroborated in material respects; regional court applied necessary caution and considered evidence holistically — No misdirection found in regional court's evaluation of evidence — Appeal dismissed.
Practice and procedure — Stay of proceedings — Urgent application for stay of hearing pending determination of interlocutory proceedings — Respondents failing to establish urgency — Conduct of respondents constituting abuse of process — Application for stay dismissed. Summary: The applicant sought to enforce a restraint of trade against the first respondent, a former employee, with the second respondent joining in opposition. The respondents filed an urgent application to stay the proceedings, claiming procedural issues, but failed to provide an answering affidavit as required. Legal issue: Whether the respondents established a valid case for urgency to warrant a stay of proceedings. Holding/Conclusion: The Labour Court dismissed the respondents' application for a stay of proceedings, enforced the restraint of trade, and awarded costs against the respondents due to their abusive conduct.
Mediation — Mandatory mediation — Refusal to engage in mediation process — First respondent contests legality of mediation directive and protocol — Applicants seek to compel compliance with mediation process — Court holds that subjective views on mediation's efficacy do not exempt parties from participation — First respondent classified as delinquent party for failure to cooperate, compelling order granted to ensure compliance with mediation protocol.
Suretyship — Liability of sureties — Applicant seeking payment from sureties for debts of principal debtor — Respondents contesting liability on grounds of alleged disputes of fact and reduction of overdraft facility — Court finding no genuine disputes of fact and that reduction of overdraft did not cause financial collapse of principal debtor — Respondents' defences rejected and liability of sureties upheld.