Director of Public Prosecutions: Gauteng Division, Pretoria v Funewer Coaster Hamisi

The respondent pleaded guilty in the regional court to rape of a 12-year-old girl, contravening s 3 of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Act 32 of 2007, read with the minimum sentence provisions of the Criminal Law Amendment Act 105 of 1997. His plea was tendered in writing under s 112(2) of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977 and expressly admitted all elements of the offence, including the complainant’s age. He was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. On appeal, the Gauteng High Court held that the State had failed to prove the complainant’s age by admissible evidence and set aside the life sentence, substituting it with 15 years’ imprisonment. The Director of Public Prosecutions appealed to the Supreme Court of Appeal on a point of law.

The appeal succeeded. The conviction for rape was reinstated. The High Court’s sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment was set aside and replaced with a sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment, antedated to 24 June 2010.

The case authoritatively confirms that admissions made in a written guilty plea under s 112(2) of the Criminal Procedure Act can constitute proof of all elements of an offence, including the complainant’s age, and that the State is not required to lead further evidence once such admissions are accepted. It clarifies the proper approach to guilty pleas and reinforces the discretion of courts in applying minimum sentence legislation.