appeal – praag.org

Olympic cyclist’s killer may appeal ‘harsh sentence’

Although the family of Olympic cyclist Burry Stander welcomed the ruling handed to black taxi driver Njabulo Nyawose, charged for culpable homicide and sentenced to three years in prison on Wednesday at Port Shepstone Magistrate’s Court, his lawyer has vowed to appeal against the court’s decision.

Magistrate Charmaine Barnard sentenced Nyawose to six years in jail, with three years suspended for five years on condition that he was not convicted of culpable homicide in the period of suspension. Barnard cancelled his driver’s licence as she said he should have acted with extra caution because of his passengers.

His attorney, Xolile Ntshulana, who offered his services for free when Nyawose could no longer afford to pay him, said his client had requested him to appeal the “harsh” decision.

“We are not happy with the decision and think the court should have been more lenient. He is a first-time offender and had shown remorse for his actions during the trial. But we are waiting for transcripts before we act. His licence has also been cancelled which was not fair because this means he will have to undergo a rigorous process when applying for his licence after serving his term.”

Stander’s mother, Mandie, said the sentence was “realistic” and accepted it. She was relieved that after two years of suffering the trial was over.

“As a parent, you never expect to outlive your children. Burry was only 25 and too young to go.”

Nyawose, 25, was travelling southbound on Marine Drive, near Shelly Beach, on January 3, 2013, when he crossed the barrier line on the north-bound lane to turn right into Stott Street. Stander had been cycling north in Marine Drive when the collision occurred. He suffered extensive “blunt force traumas”.

He died at the scene.

He finished fifth in the men’s cross-country race at the 2012 London Olympics and 15th at the Beijing Games four years earlier.

A source close to Nyawose, who did not want to be named, believed the “court failed to apply its mind thoroughly when it handed down sentence”. He also dismissed Barnard’s claim that Nyawose acted with gross negligence when he turned over a solid barrier line.

Source: Sunday Tribune

ANC to appeal Bashir ruling

The government is to appeal the North Gauteng High Court’s judgment relating to Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir.

A statement released by the government’s communications department on Monday said the reasons for the appeal would be stated in the affidavit.

Bashir left the country while the ruling was being made by the court on whether or not he should be detained under an International Criminal Court indictment for war crimes in Darfur.

In leaving the country, Bashir violated of an interim court interdict ordering him to stay.

The government’s affidavit stated that the reason Bashir left the country was that his passport had not been handed in at immigration control at the Waterkloof Air Force Base.

The court has asked the National Prosecuting Authority to investigate the possibility of pursuing criminal charges against the government for its role in allowing him to leave.

Source: eNCA

20-year sentence for Security Minister’s drug-dealing wife

The prison sentences of Sheryl Cwele — former wife of State Security Minister Siyabonga Cwele — and her co-accused were increased to 20 years on Monday.

“The effects of their deeds on the community at large far outweigh their personal circumstances and justify a long term of imprisonment,” the Supreme Court of Appeal concluded.

Cwele and Frank Nabolisa were found guilty in May 2011 of drug dealing by the Pietermaritzburg High Court and sentenced to 12 years imprisonment each.

Cwele, 50, appealed to the SCA against her conviction only, while Nabolisa appealed both his conviction and sentence.

Both pleaded not guilty to conspiring to deal in drugs, to procuring a woman, Charmaine Moss, to collect drugs in Turkey, and to procuring another woman, Tessa Beetge, to smuggle cocaine from South America.

Nabolisa had been in custody until now, while Cwele was out on R100,000 bail.

A full bench in an unanimous judgment, said in many similar cases the drug courier or “mule” got caught, while the handler — the real dealer or importer — remained safe in the background to carry on with his or her evil deeds.

SCA President Lex Mpati said in this case it was only through the courage and determination of Beetge’s mother that the real culprits were brought to book.

The SCA judgment held that Cwele and Nabolisa, by being involved in the drug trade, had reconciled themselves to sowing the seeds of destruction, directly and indirectly, in the lives of a number of people, including children.

The SCA held that Nabolisa sent Beetge to South America to collect cocaine and bring it back to South Africa.

“It is the only reasonable inference to be drawn from the totality of the proved facts,” the judge said.

The SCA found it might well be that Cwele played a lesser role in the whole enterprise, but as a qualified nurse she must have known the dangers inherent in the use of drugs.

“Yet she was a willing partner in the commission of the crime, who befriended and preyed on vulnerable women in furtherance of the criminal enterprise.”

The judge said on the facts the “inference was irresistible (compelling)” that Cwele must have known that Beetge was being asked to ferry cocaine to South Africa.

The SCA held the trial court was correct in treating Cwele and Nabolisa equally. The court dismissed their appeals against their convictions.

It found the 12-year prison sentence imposed on each of them by the trial court disturbingly inappropriate. The high court’s sentences were replaced with a sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment for each of them. – Sapa