S v Mofomme

• Jurisdiction: South Africa
• Citation: 2018 (1) SACR 213 (GP)

S v Mofomme
2018 (1) SACR 213 (GP)

2018 (1) SACR p213

Citation	2018 (1) SACR 213 (GP)
Case No	A 812/2017
Court	Gauteng Division, Pretoria
Judge	Baqwa J and Phahlane AJ
Heard	November 9, 2017
Judgment	November 9, 2017
Counsel	LA van Wyk for the appellant, instructed by Legal Aid South Africa.; AJ Fourie for the state.

Flynote : Sleutelwoorde

Corruption — Sentence — Nature of offence called for retributive and deterrent B aspects of punishment to be brought to fore — Minor official at magistrates' court offering to improperly obtain bail for accused persons for reward — Sentence of eight years' imprisonment for first offender upheld on appeal.

Headnote : Kopnota

The appellant was convicted in a regional court on counts of corruption and C fraud and was sentenced to an effective sentence of eight years' imprisonment. He appealed against his sentence. The offences related to his attempts, as an official of the Department of Justice, to improperly secure bail for accused persons for reward. He was a 32-year-old first offender with three minor children and appeared to have a relatively inferior position. D

Held, that, while it was true that the amount involved was not a large amount (R300), it had to be noted that this was the kind of offence that silently eroded the moral fibre of the nation. Like a cancer, its effect might not be perceived until it had totally destroyed the substratum of society. It was the kind of offence that called for the retributive and deterrent aspect of punishment to be brought to bear in sending the message to like-minded E persons that the game was simply not worth the candle to travel down the corruption road, no matter how large or minimal the ill-gotten gains. (See [20].) The appeal was dismissed.

Cases cited

Mohamed and Another v President of the Republic of South Africa and Others F 2001 (2) SACR 66 (CC) (2001 (3) SA 893; 2001 (7) BCLR 685): dictum in para [68] applied

S v Chabedi2005 (1) SACR 415 (SCA): applied

S v De Villiers2016 (1) SACR 148 (SCA): referred to

S v Phillips2017 (1) SACR 373 (SCA) ([2016] ZASCA 187): referred to

S v Shaik and Others2007 (1) SACR 247 (SCA) (2007 (1) SA 240; G [2007] 2 All SA 9): dictum at 255i – j applied.

Case Information

LA van Wyk for the appellant, instructed by Legal Aid South Africa.

AJ Fourie for the state.

An appeal from sentences imposed in a regional magistrates' court for H fraud and corruption.

Order

The appeal against sentence is dismissed. I

Judgment

Baqwa J (Phahlane AJ concurring):

[1] The appellant herein was arraigned before the regional magistrates' court, Pretoria North, on two counts of corruption and fraud. Count 1 also had seven alternative charges of corruption in relation to acceptance of a benefit. J

2018 (1) SACR p214

Baqwa J (Phahlane AJ concurring)

[2] A The appellant pleaded not guilty but was found guilty on both counts 1 and 2 on 31 October 2014.

[3] He was sentenced to eight years' imprisonment on count 1 and six years' imprisonment on count 2. The sentences were ordered to run concurrently, resulting in an effective sentence of eight years' imprisonment. B

[4] The appellant petitioned this court for leave to appeal after leave was refused by the trial court. Leave was granted on petition for the appellant to appeal against sentence only and this is what brings C the appellant before us today.

Point in limine

[5] The appellant and the respondent have made reference to the fact that the record of proceedings is incomplete, but they are in agreement D that the issue is of no consequence in this appeal, due to the fact that the trial court gave a comprehensive judgment regarding the merits and that the trial record in respect of sentence is complete. In line with the decision therefore in S v Chabedi2005 (1) SACR 415 (SCA), I accept that the defects in the record are not so serious that a proper consideration E of the appeal is not...