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[2010] ZAWCHC 155
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Mohammed v S (A730/2007) [2010] ZAWCHC 155 (8 June 2010)
IN
THE HIGH COURT OF SOUTH AFRICA
(WESTERN
CAPE HIGH COURT, CAPE TOWN)
CASE
NUMBER
:
A730/2007
DATE
:
8
JUNE 2010
In
the matter between:
SAID
MOHAMMED
Applicant
and
THE
STATE
Respondent
JUDGMENT
Application
for Leave to Appeal
CLEAVER.
J
:
This
is an application for leave to appeal against the judgment handed
down by this Court on
16
May 2008, in which the conviction and sentence of the appellant in
the regional court was confirmed, the conviction being that
of
robbery with aggravating circumstances and sentence being the minimum
prescribed sentence of
15
years.
The
issue in the appeal and the application before us is the
identification of the appellant. No identification parade took place
and the appellant was identified by the two State witnesses some five
months after the event. In doing so, the witnesses relied
on their
memory and had not given any description of the appellant to the
police. The State resisted the application before us
on the basis
that the two witnesses had sufficient time to identify the appellant,
but in our view another Court might reasonably
come to a conclusion
that the failure of the witnesses to record any description of the
appellant, coupled with the time which
elapsed before the appellant
was identified and the frailty of human memory, may be such as to
render their identification suspect.
In
the circumstances leave to appeal against the conviction and
sentence to the Supreme Court of Appeal is granted.
CLEAVER,J
BRUSSER.
AJ
:
I agree.
BRUSSER.
AJ