Two men successfully appealed against their convictions for robbery with aggravating circumstances and had their sentences discounted in the Western Cape High Court.

They will, however, remain behind bars as they continue serving life sentences for the rapes of their theft victim. 

The two were co-accused in a trial matter before the Wynberg Regional Court where they faced charges of robbery with aggravated circumstances, compelling or causing children to witness sexual offences, housebreaking, and rape.

During court proceedings and before trial, the appellants pleaded not guilty to all the charges and offered no plea explanations.

In 2021, the two men broke into the homes of two women in the Marikana informal settlement, in Philippi East, Cape Town.

The men had broken into a woman’s shack when she was home with her children, who cried hysterically on a bed as the men looted their house and then sexually assaulted the mother on the same bed. The children were there to witness the horrible act.

According to the court record, the woman was at home when she heard the men at her shack door, and when they demanded she open the door, she was also told that if she did not do as told, they would kill her.

They demanded that she open the door or they would do so themselves, which prompted the victim to open the door herself.

She was also threatened with death if she reported the rapes and instructed her to wash in a bath before they left her shack. 

“She had never spoken to the appellants prior to the incidents and explained that she had heard them being called Vovo and Blacks by community members. Vovo (first appellant) lived opposite her and Blacks (second appellant) lived further up the road. It was put to her that the appellants deny ever being on the scene at her shack, deny the rapes, and had no knowledge of the two incidents. 

“In the appellants’ written submissions, for the first time, they raise the issue of duplication of charges. The submission is that the (duplicated) counts arise out of the same incidents. Concerning the appeal against sentence, the appellants’ grounds of appeal are that the interests of the community and seriousness of the offences were over-emphasised at the expense of their personal circumstances, and that the element of mercy was not considered during sentencing. The further ground is that life imprisonment would hinder rehabilitation and that the sentences imposed are strikingly inappropriate and induce a sense of shock,” the judgment read.  

Judge Mas-Udah Pangarker said: “In conclusion, in view of the interference in the findings on conviction on counts 1 (robbery with aggravated circumstances) and 6 (housebreaking with intent to commit a crime unknown to the State), it is important to note that the minimum sentences imposed in respect of both these sentences would not apply.”

The sentences of 15 years for both on count 1, which Judge Pangarker found to be theft, were replaced with six years.

Similarly, the sentence of 15 years for the second appellant, which Judge Pangarker found to be housebreaking with intent to rob and robbery, was substituted with 10 years’ direct imprisonment. 

The sentences were backdated to June 27, 2024.

chevon.booysen@inl.co.za

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