THE SUPREME COURT OF APPEAL
REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA
MEDIA STATEMENT – CASE HEARING IN SUPREME COURT OF APPEAL
 
 
Reuben Heslop v The State

Supreme Court of Appeal -216/05 Hearing date: 23 November 2006
Judgment date: 30 November 2006

Criminal Appeal: Delay and failure by the registrar of the court a quo to provide an explanation, criticised. Discussed: The role of probabilities in evaluating guilt; inconsistency of evidence with unassailable fact; failure to allow cross-examination; when an appeal court is justified in disregarding favourable credibility findings by a trial judge in respect of a witness’s demeanour; the difficulty of drawing inferences from the location of gunshot wounds; and reasoning based on matters not canvassed in evidence.
Media Summary of Judgment

1. The SCA today criticised the registrar of the Johannesburg High Court for failing for ten years to submit the record of a criminal appeal to Bloemfontein and for ignoring for over eight months requests made by the court for an explanation for the delay. The matter was referred by the President of the court to the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, who has said that she views the matter in a serious light and has appointed the director general in her department to conduct an investigation.

2. The appellant, Mr Reuben Heslop, was charged in the Johannesburg High Court for murdering Mr Mark van der Westhuizen, his brother Richard and Mr Keith Davis outside Steers in Hillbrow, Johannesburg, on 20 May 1995. He said that he had shot them in self-defence as they had all shot at him first, hitting him six times all over his body. He was convicted on three counts of culpable homicide and sentenced to an effective six years’ imprisonment.

3. The conviction was set aside because of numerous misdirections on fact and law committed by the trial court. The appellant was out on bail pending the appeal.