The appellant, David Sithole, was convicted in the Mamelodi Regional Court in November 2002 of robbery with aggravating circumstances and sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment under the Criminal Law Amendment Act 105 of 1997. The conviction was based primarily on the identification evidence of a single witness, the complainant, Ms Nancy Mokoena, who was robbed of her cellphone by two unknown men, one allegedly armed with a firearm. Her identification of the appellant was not made at the scene but later, after being told by third parties that the perpetrator was a man named David who frequented a nearby gym. Those third parties did not testify. Sithole, who was unrepresented at trial, raised an alibi, stating that he was at work in Sunnyside at the time. His appeal to the North Gauteng High Court failed, but leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeal was eventually granted after significant delay. By the time the appeal was heard, Sithole had already served eight years of his sentence and had been released on parole.