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Conviction Overturned: How a Courtroom Misstep Cut Years Off a Man’s Sentence

Published

2 months ago

July 31, 2025

Chiraag

Supreme Court of Appeal, Mbalenhle Ntuli ruling, attempted murder overturned, SCA judgment 2025, fair trial South Africa, criminal conviction overturned, common purpose defence, South African court news, Joburg ETC

The Supreme Court of Appeal has ruled that a man convicted of attempted murder never got a fair trial. Now, part of his sentence is gone.

In a ruling that has reopened debate around fair trial procedures in South Africa, the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) has overturned three attempted murder convictions handed to Mbalenhle Ntuli, who has been serving a 20-year sentence since 2008.

While Ntuli remains behind bars for robbery and firearm charges, the court found that the way his attempted murder convictions were handled violated his constitutional rights. That decision has now reduced his effective sentence from 20 years to 15.

Where things went wrong

Ntuli was convicted in the Newlands Regional Court for his involvement in a robbery and a related shooting at police officers. The original sentence looked like this:

15 years for robbery with aggravating circumstances
5 years for possession of unlicensed firearms (served concurrently)
5 years for three counts of attempted murder (served consecutively)

But here’s the issue: while the State argued during trial that Ntuli himself fired the shots, the High Court later upheld the convictions using the doctrine of common purpose, a legal principle where shared intent makes each person liable for the group’s crime.

The catch? Ntuli was never told this would be used against him.

No warning. No fairness.

According to Acting Judge of Appeal Fathima Dawood, the State failed to raise the common purpose doctrine in its charge sheet or during trial. This meant Ntuli and his defence team were never given a proper chance to respond to it, a clear violation of his right to a fair trial.

“There was no forewarning to Ntuli that his conviction was sought on the basis of common purpose,” Dawood wrote.
“Absent reliance on common purpose, the State failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr Ntuli’s actions amounted to attempted murder.”

The SCA also noted that the State’s witnesses gave contradictory accounts about whether Ntuli actually fired a weapon during the incident, which weakened the case further.

Not innocent, but not proven guilty either

This is not an acquittal in the traditional sense. Ntuli is still convicted of armed robbery and firearm offences. What changed is the court’s view that the attempted murder conviction was not lawfully reached, given the procedural failures.

The SCA set aside counts 6 to 8 (attempted murder), reducing his total sentence to 15 years.

Legal commentators on X have responded with mixed reactions. Some say the ruling strengthens protections for accused persons, especially when facing group charges. Others believe it exposes poor prosecution strategy more than anything else.