The appellant was charged in the regional court, Benoni, with two counts of robbery with aggravating circumstances arising from an incident at the home and business premises of Mr Marx senior. The appellant and three accomplices arrived in a vehicle. Two of them, armed with firearms, assaulted Mr Marx senior and robbed him of R10 000. Shortly thereafter, Mr Marx junior, the son of the first complainant, attempted to block the robbers’ vehicle. He was confronted by the appellant, who was armed, forced out of his vehicle, assaulted, threatened with a firearm, and robbed of his cellular phone and R2 000 in cash. The appellant was convicted on both counts and sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment on each count, with partial concurrency resulting in an effective sentence of 20 years. Leave to appeal was refused by the trial court and a petition in terms of s 309C of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977 was dismissed, leading to the present appeal against the refusal of leave to appeal.