Keith Crowshaw – bail conditions

In the matter between

KEITH CROSHAW CRB B 2412/02
RITK LEWIS CRB B 2406/02
And
DERICK SCUTT CRB B 2434/02

BAIL APPLICATION

Mr. Passaportis for the 1st and second accused
Mr. Madya for the 3rd accused
Miss Ziyambi for the State

KAMOCHA J: Section 9(2) of the Land Acquisition Act [Chapter 20:10] as amended provides as follows –

“A court which has convicted a person of an offence in terms of paragraph (b) of subsection (1) or proviso (ii) thereto shall issue an order to evict the person evicted from the land to which the offence relates.”

The appellants were facing charges of contravening section 9(1)(b)(ii) of the Act and appeared on remand before magistrates.  They were granted bail and attached to that was a condition that the appellants should be evicted from their properties.

They were all aggrieved by that condition and appealed to this Court.  Quite clearly the magistrates did not have power in law to impose such conditions which can only be  imposed on people who have been convicted.  The appellants have not yet been convicted.

The State had argued that a magistrate had a discretion to impose any condition in a bail application.  I did not understand the State Counsel to suggest that the magistrate has a licence to impose conditions which are contrary to law.  The magistrate cannot impose conditions which should only be imposed to convicted persons.

I am satisfied that the magistrates were wrong in law to impose such a condition.

The appeals therefore succeed.

It is therefore ordered that the offending condition be and is hereby revoked and an order is issued in terms of the draft in respect of each of the three cases.