Libazi and Another v The State

The appellants, Andile William Libazi and Mabhuti Mbayimbayi, members of the Herschel United Taxi Association, were charged together with others following violent taxi-association related shootings in and around Sterkspruit on 27 May 1995. The incidents involved attacks on members of the rival Herschel Long Distance Taxi Association, resulting in the death of Thokozile Anderson Thubela and several attempted murders. The appellants were convicted in the Eastern Cape High Court of conspiracy to commit murder and multiple counts of attempted murder, largely on the basis of eyewitness testimony and an extra-curial statement made by a co-accused, Herbert Shasha, who did not testify at trial and later died. The appellants appealed against their convictions and sentences.

The appeal against the convictions and sentences on the conspiracy to commit murder count was upheld and those convictions set aside. The appeals against the attempted murder convictions were dismissed. The original sentences were set aside and replaced with sentences of 10 years’ imprisonment on the remaining attempted murder counts, all to run concurrently.

The case is significant for clarifying the limits on the admissibility of hearsay evidence under s 3(1)(c) of the Law of Evidence Amendment Act, particularly where such evidence consists of an extra-curial statement by a non-testifying accomplice. It reinforces the constitutional right to a fair trial and the centrality of cross-examination, and it cautions against an overbroad application of S v Ndhlovu. The judgment underscores the continued importance of cautionary rules in criminal trials.