Molimi v The State

A planned armed robbery took place at the Clicks store, Southgate Mall, Johannesburg. The first appellant, the store manager, and the second appellant, a former Fidelity Guards employee, planned the robbery and recruited accused 1 and others. During the robbery, gunfire was exchanged between robbers and a security guard, resulting in the guard’s death. While fleeing, accused 1 took a hostage after being pursued by an armed bystander. The bystander fired shots that accidentally killed the hostage and injured a store employee. The appellants were convicted on multiple counts including robbery, two counts of murder, attempted murder, kidnapping, and unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition, primarily on the basis of extra-curial statements and the doctrine of common purpose.

The appeals against the convictions for robbery and the murder of the security guard were dismissed. The appeals against the convictions for the murder of the hostage, attempted murder, kidnapping, and unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition were upheld, and those convictions were set aside.

The case is significant for clarifying the flexible application of section 3 of the Law of Evidence Amendment Act and confirming that non-compliance with the Ndhlovu procedural guidance does not automatically result in an unfair trial. It also provides important authority on the limits of the doctrine of common purpose, particularly regarding foreseeability and deviation from the agreed criminal enterprise, and confirms that firearm possession cannot lightly be imputed between co-perpetrators.