Kekana v The State

On 14 January 2005, during a robbery with aggravating circumstances at the Ga-Raoleka supermarket in Lebowakgomo, two men were shot and killed. As the perpetrators fled, they fired shots indiscriminately, injuring a bystander. The appellant, Bushy Vincent Kekana, was one of four robbers and played a leading role, including planning the robbery, entering the shop first, and using a firearm. He was 17 years and approximately 10 months old at the time. He and his co-accused were convicted of two counts of murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances, and unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition. The trial court imposed life imprisonment for each murder count, treating him as an adult.

The appeal against the life sentences was upheld. The life sentences imposed for the two murder counts were set aside and substituted with a sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment for those counts taken together. All other sentences were confirmed and ordered to run concurrently, resulting in an effective sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment.

The case reaffirms that sentencing courts commit a material misdirection if they fail to properly account for the youthfulness of offenders aged between 16 and 18 when applying the Criminal Law Amendment Act. It underscores the constitutional obligation to treat child offenders differently from adults, even in cases involving serious and violent crimes, and reinforces the centrality of rehabilitation and proportionality in sentencing children.