The appellant, Kumbulane Vukani Zulu, was convicted in the Verulam Regional Court on three counts of robbery with aggravating circumstances, three counts of unlawful possession of an unlicensed firearm, and one count of unlawful possession of ammunition. He was sentenced to an effective term of 17 years’ imprisonment. His application for leave to appeal against all convictions and sentences was refused by the regional court. A subsequent petition to the KwaZulu-Natal High Court under s 309C of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977 was also dismissed. The appellant then sought special leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) against the high court’s refusal to grant leave, limited to the convictions for unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition. The regional court’s reasoning on those counts relied on drawing an inference of joint possession based on the appellant’s association with co-accused and their involvement in the robberies.
The appeal was upheld. The order of the High Court was set aside and replaced with an order granting the appellant leave to appeal to the KwaZulu-Natal High Court, Pietermaritzburg, against his convictions on counts 4, 5, 6 and 7 (unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition).
The case confirms and reinforces the procedural principle that the Supreme Court of Appeal, when granting special leave against a High Court’s refusal of leave to appeal under s 309C of the Criminal Procedure Act, may only consider whether leave should have been granted and not the merits of the appeal itself. Substantively, it underscores the strict requirements of the doctrine of joint possession of firearms and cautions against inferring possession merely from association or participation in a joint criminal enterprise.