Murder Accused Must Have Counsel

It is also a constitutional requirement that if such an accused person cannot afford to hire a lawyer, the state provides a pro deo counsel or court appointed attorney.

A prominent criminal lawyer, Dick Bayford, says that in terms of the Legal Practitioners Act, one of the requirements for one's admission to become an attorney is that the applicant must be prepared to do pro deo work. "Every admitted attorney must devote a sizable amount of his or her time of professional work towards pro deo," Bayford said. He added that the pro deo counsel is appointed for cases that carry capital punishment or are tried before the High Court.