Robbery convict wastes no time

He was slapped with an eight-year jail term by acting chief magistrate Lorraine Makati-Lesang but when he was told he could apply for bail pending an appeal, he went into action. He stood up right after the sentence and applied for bail. In his application, he said that ever since he appeared before the court, he has never taken a plea and hence he feels the proceedings against him were faulty. The magistrate granted him his wish and said she would make a decision tomorrow on the bail application. He told the court that he was only 22-years-old when he committed the offence and this seemed to strike a chord in Makati-Lesang's mind especially when he quoted from past cases involving youth.

These included Justice John Mosojane's judgment in the 2005 case of on one Zhung Fu and others and the decision of Justice Mpaphi Phumaphi in the Gabatlwaelwe Seme and another. The offenders in the cases were teenagers.