ConCourt overturns Waxa and Makhala’s convictions

KNYSNA NEWS - The Constitutional Court has overturned the conviction and life sentence of Velile Waxa and Mawande Mkhala, who had been found guilty of the 2018 murder of Knysna councillor Mzukisi Molosi.

They were convicted on 11 December 2019 in the Western Cape High Court, Eastern Circuit Local Division (Knysna), of murder, possession of an unlicensed firearm and unlawful possession of ammunition.

They were each sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder and five years’ imprisonment on the remaining counts.

The convictions and sentences relate to the murder of Molosi who was gunned down near his home in Knysna on 23 July 2018. At the time of his murder, Molosi was an ANC councilor at the Knysna Municipal Council.

Waxa was an independent councilor at the Knysna Municipal Council while Makhala was a clerk at the housing department in the Knysna Municipality. Following their convictions Waxa and Makhala appealed their convictions and sentences to the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein.

Their appeal was dismissed on 2 November 2021 by a unanimous decision of five judges. They then sought leave to appeal to the Constitutional Court on several constitutional grounds.

Daan Dercksen, the attorney of Waxa and Makhala, told the Knysna-Plett Herald that the application for leave to appeal was argued before 9 judges of the Constitutional Court on 15 February 2024.

On Friday 20 December 2024 the Constitutional Court handed down its judgement. The court found that the State failed to prove the guilt of Waxa and Makhala beyond a reasonable doubt and ruled that they should have been acquitted.

All 9 judges agreed that the convictions and sentences of Waxa and Makhala should be set aside. Dumile Vela, who shot Molosi, is serving a life sentence and did not appeal his conviction or sentence.

“This is a seminal judgment concerning the state's much favoured reliance on unreliable accomplice evidence. Our clients have spent three years in custody awaiting justice, after their appeal to the SCA was unanimously, but erroneously dismissed by five judges and we are delighted to have received a favourable and unanimous judgment by the ConCourt. This is indeed a pivotal moment in the history of this vexing subject,” Dercksen said.

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