The accused, T Makwanyane and M Mchunu, were convicted in the Witwatersrand Local Division of the Supreme Court on four counts of murder, one count of attempted murder, and one count of robbery with aggravating circumstances. They were sentenced to death for the murder counts and to lengthy terms of imprisonment for the other offences. Their appeals against conviction were dismissed by the Appellate Division, which also found that the murders warranted the most severe sentence available. However, following the coming into force of the Interim Constitution of 1993, the Appellate Division postponed the final determination of the death sentences and effectively referred to the Constitutional Court the question whether section 277(1)(a) of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977, which authorised the death penalty, was consistent with the Constitution.
Section 277(1)(a) of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977 was declared unconstitutional and invalid. The death sentences imposed on the accused were set aside and replaced with sentences of life imprisonment or such other sentences as the appropriate courts might determine.
This landmark decision abolished the death penalty in South Africa and established the supremacy of constitutional rights over legislative and public opinion considerations. It is foundational in South African constitutional jurisprudence for its articulation of a purposive, value-based approach to rights interpretation and its strong affirmation of human dignity, the right to life, and the prohibition of cruel, inhuman, or degrading punishment.