Magasela v The State

The appellant was charged with murder arising from the fatal shooting of the deceased on 18 May 2018 at a residential complex in Benoni. The deceased, who was intoxicated and aggressive, had been harassing a fellow tenant. The appellant reported the conduct to a security officer, Mr Tangzwane, who attempted to intervene. During a physical altercation involving the appellant, the deceased and the security officer, the appellant discharged his licensed firearm and shot the deceased in the head. The appellant contended that the firearm discharged accidentally during a struggle when the deceased attempted to grab it. The State relied primarily on the evidence of Mr Tangzwane, a single witness to the surrounding events. The appellant was convicted of murder and sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment.

The appeal against conviction was dismissed. The appeal against sentence was upheld. The sentence was reduced to eight years’ imprisonment, antedated to 11 September 2019.

The case reiterates core principles governing the evaluation of evidence in criminal trials, particularly the assessment of an accused’s version against the totality of the evidence and the treatment of single-witness testimony. It also illustrates the SCA’s willingness to interfere with sentence where a trial court misdirects itself in applying the minimum sentence regime under the Criminal Law Amendment Act 105 of 1997.