Siphelele Goodman Nene v The State

The appellant was convicted in the Durban Regional Court of robbery with aggravating circumstances, possession of goods suspected to have been stolen, unlawful possession of a firearm, and unlawful possession of ammunition. The charges arose from an armed robbery on 4 November 2015 in Marianhill, Durban, where a sales representative was robbed at gunpoint of a VW Caddy vehicle, a cellphone, and cigarettes. Police pursued the suspects, during which shots were fired at them. After a crash involving the suspects' vehicle, several suspects fled. The appellant was later tracked by a police dog, found with a gunshot wound, and arrested. A firearm was recovered near where he was seen discarding an object. The appellant denied involvement, claiming he was a passer-by accidentally shot during a police shoot-out. His application for leave to appeal against conviction and sentence was refused by the Regional Court and, on petition, by the KwaZulu-Natal High Court.

The appeal was upheld. The order of the KwaZulu-Natal High Court refusing the petition for leave to appeal was set aside and replaced with an order granting the appellant leave to appeal to the KwaZulu-Natal Division of the High Court, Pietermaritzburg, against his conviction and sentence.

The case reaffirms the principles governing appeals against the refusal of petitions for leave to appeal under section 309C of the Criminal Procedure Act. It underscores the requirement that a conviction under section 36 of Act 62 of 1955 must be supported by evidence that the accused was unable to give a satisfactory account of possession. The judgment illustrates the Supreme Court of Appeal’s supervisory role in ensuring that arguable criminal appeals are not prematurely terminated.