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[2025] ZAGPJHC 851
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Bongani and Another v S (SS106/2022) [2025] ZAGPJHC 851 (9 May 2025)
IN THE HIGH COURT OF SOUTH AFRICA
GAUTENG LOCAL DIVISION,
JOHANNESBURG
CASE
NO
: SS106/2022
DATE
:
09-05-2025
(1)
REPORTABLE: YES / NO.
(2)
OF INTEREST TO OTHER JUDGES: YES / NO.
(3)
REVISED.
In
the matter between
DR
DLAKAW BONGANI
Applicant 1
THATO
M MORAKE
Applicant 2
and
STATE
Respondent
JUDGMENT
LEAVE TO APPEAL
KUMALO,
J
:
Let us start with the issue of
condonation. I believe it is fair and just that condonation be
granted for the late filing, if there
is a late filing of the leave
to appeal. V I believe so, in the sense that in all honesty, perhaps
for accused 1, or appellant
1, there was an application in that
regard, although it was not in accordance with the law, but I will
accept that. So condonation
is granted insofar as that is concerned
and so is for appellant 2.
However, when it comes to the leave to
appeal, I unfortunately have a different view to what has been put by
the appellants' counsels.
For starters, insofar as accused 1 is
concerned, there is not much really that he puts up as a fight, you
know, insofar as
there is concern. I do not think that it would
serve any purpose to grant any leave when I am of the view that no
other Court
will arrive at a different conclusion.
Now, when it comes to accused 2 or
appellant 2, the unfortunate part, whilst counsel's argument makes
sense, the only problem is
that counsel is nitpicking and I
understand he was not involved in the matter. There were a
number of other things that were
done or that were said and in fact,
as the state indicated, there was a witness on behalf of the accused
persons, there was a witness
on behalf of the accused persons, who on
that particular day allegedly travelled with them to the so-called
place in Togosa, who
testified.
If you had read my judgment properly,
that witness was quite amazing because he was able to describe, to
give vividly, the directions
that were taken to go to, but then, at
the end of the day he did not know where they stopped in Togosa and
the worst part was that
these people were traveling during the high
time of lockdown. They claimed they passed two roadblocks and
they were not stopped,
whilst they had a person in the boot. Now
I hear counsel when he says that well, if you look at the state of
the mind, basically,
at the end of the day, it was this Court's
finding that the missing person was killed and they knew very much
about that.
It also relates also to the issue of
defeating the hands of justice, because up to now I have never heard
that the body had been
found or that he has been found, in terms of
the allegation that was made to say that he was seen somewhere, this
was an EFF plot
and all of that. I do not believe, with the
facts and the evidence that was led in Court, that any other Court
would arrive
at a different conclusion.
In the circumstances,
APPLICATION
FOR LEAVE TO APPEAL IS DENIED
.
KUMALO, J
JUDGE OF THE HIGH COURT
DATE
:
……………….