Sewnarain v The State

The appellant, Rajiv Sewnarain, was convicted of the murder of his wife after confessing before a magistrate and pleading guilty, for which he was sentenced to life imprisonment in December 2010. Approximately a year later he applied for review of his conviction and sentence, alleging that his confession and guilty plea were not made freely and voluntarily due to assault, threats, undue influence by the investigating officer, medication, exhaustion and bereavement. The High Court referred the review application to oral evidence due to a genuine dispute of fact. Pending the review, the appellant applied for bail, which was refused by the High Court. He appealed that refusal to the Supreme Court of Appeal.

The appeal against the refusal of bail was dismissed.

The case reaffirms the strict approach adopted by South African courts to bail applications under section 60(11)(a) of the Criminal Procedure Act, particularly for applicants convicted of serious offences. It confirms that neither reasonable prospects of success on appeal or review nor financial considerations, without more, amount to exceptional circumstances justifying release on bail.