Khumbusa v the State and Another

• Jurisdiction: South Africa
• Judge: Fannin AJP and Shearer J
• Judgment Date: 16 September 1976
• Citation: 1977 (1) SA 394 (N)
• Hearing Date: 16 September 1976
• Court: Natal Provincial Division

Fannin, A.J.P.:

On 22 October 1975 at about 3 o'clock in the F afternoon, there was trouble at the Vocational School at Nongoma, in the course of which a number of the students committed acts of violence against the staff and against the buildings of that institution. At one stage a member of the staff fired a pistol and subsequently the police were called in and order was restored at about 4.30 p.m. Subsequently, on the same afternoon or evening, students were warned to assemble in G the school hall on the following day at 8 o'clock in the morning. The following day 199 students who had assembled there, had their fingerprints taken. That lasted until about 2 o'clock in the afternoon. Then, at about 2.50 p.m. a magistrate of the district constituted a court in the school hall and these 199 students were charged before him with the offence of public violence, it being alleged that on the previous day, 22 H October 1975, at the Nongoma Bantu Vocational School, a public place, -

"they, the one or the other or all of them, or some persons unknown to the State, did wrongfully, unlawfully and riotously assemble with intent to disturb the public peace and security or to interfere with the right of other people there being, or to assail or defy the authority of other persons or bodies there established to maintain law and order by causing a violent disturbance, riot or fight, to wit, by assembling with different weapons, by wrongfully and unlawfully flocking together at a building

Fannin AJP

and motor vehicles at the administrative block at the said Vocational School, and intentionally stoned the said building and motor vehicles and persons in the said building, to wit, Messrs. K. Killerby, F. J. Bezuidenhout, B. Greyling, C. L. Mulhatton, S. J. Vorster, P. J. Mulligan, R. M. Ngubane, S. Mhlungu and N. Mbokazi, therein A by damaging windows, doors, roofs, furniture and accessories therein and the interior of the said building and also by damaging two motor vehicles there parked."

B According to the charge sheet, the 199 accused varied in age between 17 years and 27 years, two of them being said to be 17 years old. According to the record of the proceedings, when the charge was put all the accused except No. 62 pleaded guilty. After evidence was led all but No. 62 were found guilty and were sentenced to pay a fine of R60 with the alternative of 60 days' imprisonment and they were, in addition, sentenced to be imprisoned for three months, such three months' imprisonment C being suspended for three years upon certain conditions.

We now have before us an application by the 80th accused, Jeremiah Khumbuza, who is reflected in the charge as being the name Jerry Khumbuza and is said therein to be 18 years of age. He asks that this Court set aside the conviction and sentence upon the ground that the proceedings were irregular for a D number of reasons. We have, in addition, an appeal by the same accused against the conviction and sentence. In his application the applicant claims that the...