Monye v The State

The appellants, Ambrose Monye and Andre Gouws, were charged with the premeditated murder of Ms Chanelle Henning, committed on 8 November 2011. The murder was carried out by hired gunmen, Pieterse and du Plessis, who followed the deceased and shot her at point-blank range outside her son’s crèche. Monye and Gouws acted as middlemen in arranging the contract killing. Gouws, acting on instructions from the deceased’s husband, offered payment for the killing and tasked Monye to find assassins. Monye contracted Pieterse and du Plessis. Both appellants pleaded not guilty at trial, were convicted of murder, and only admitted their roles during sentencing proceedings. They were sentenced to life imprisonment in terms of the minimum sentencing legislation. Their appeal was limited to sentence only.

The appeals against sentence were dismissed and the sentences of life imprisonment imposed on both appellants were confirmed.

The case reaffirms the strict application of minimum sentencing legislation in cases of premeditated and contract killings. It underscores that post-conviction cooperation or admissions do not automatically constitute substantial and compelling circumstances and clarifies the approach to assessing genuine remorse in sentencing.