Recent Case: Evidence

JurisdictionSouth Africa
Date16 August 2019
Citation(2007) 20 SACJ 409
AuthorNicci Whitear-Nel
Published date16 August 2019
Pages409-413
Evidence
NICCI WHITEAR-NEL
University of KwaZulu-Natal
Quality of interpretation
There are two recent cases dealing with the crucial function that the
interpreter plays and the implications of inadequate interpretation of
evidence during the trial — S v Manzini 2007 (2) SACR 107 (W) and
S v Maponda 2007 (2) SACR 245 (C).
In S v Manzini the appellant was convicted of murder and attempted
murder. The proceedings were conducted in English and the appel-
lant was isiZulu speaking. An interpreter was therefore used. At the
sentencing stage, the appellant complained that his evidence had not
been properly interpreted and that he had therefore had an unfair trial.
The matter was investigated and when the transcript of the proceed-
ings was examined it revealed that the interpreter had made numer-
ous errors when interpreting and that his overall performance as an
interpreter was ‘alarmingly poor’. The chief interpreter, in his report,
had identif‌i ed 25 instances of ‘erratic’ interpretation and said that there
were many other such instances which could be identif‌i ed if necessary.
The court considered the report but reached the conclusion that the
errors made had not contributed to the decision in the case and that
the discrepancies would have made no difference to the presentation
of the defence or to the verdict. The court thus proceeded with the
sentencing.
Evidence 409
(2007) 20 SACJ 409
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