The appellant was convicted in the Orkney magistrates’ court of robbery arising from an incident on 6 September 1997, where the complainant, a mineworker, was assaulted by three men and robbed of R1 500 while on his way to work. During the attack, a black wallet was dropped at the scene, later found to belong to the appellant and containing his identity document and bank card. Shortly after the robbery, the attackers returned to the scene, apparently searching for the wallet. The complainant identified the appellant as one of the assailants. The appellant raised an alibi defence, claiming he had lost his wallet earlier that night while walking home from a dance club with his fiancée. The magistrate accepted the complainant’s evidence, rejected the appellant’s version, and convicted him. He was sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment, with four months conditionally suspended. On appeal, the Transvaal Provincial Division dismissed the appeal against conviction, found the sentence too lenient, and substituted it with four years’ imprisonment under section 276(1)(i) of the Criminal Procedure Act. The appellant then appealed further to the Supreme Court of Appeal.