Sandile Maerion Molefe v The State

The appellant was convicted in the KwaZulu-Natal High Court of murder and robbery with aggravating circumstances arising from an incident on 20 February 2002, where he and a co-perpetrator robbed and killed an occupant of a farmhouse while the victim was asleep. The appellant was a minor at the time of the offences. He was originally sentenced in July 2003 to life imprisonment for murder and 15 years’ imprisonment for robbery with aggravating circumstances. On appeal in 2013, the full court reduced the murder sentence to 25 years’ imprisonment, ordered partial concurrency with the robbery sentence resulting in an effective sentence of 30 years, and fixed a non-parole period of 20 years in terms of s 276B of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977.

The appeal was upheld, and the order of the court below fixing a 20-year non-parole period was set aside.

The case affirms the non-retrospective application of s 276B of the Criminal Procedure Act and clarifies that courts may not impose non-parole periods for offences committed before its commencement. It reinforces the separation of powers in parole matters under the pre-2004 legislative framework and protects sentenced persons from retrospective penal consequences.