The chaos revealed by the court’s ruling is startling. A man, convicted of several serious crimes, is given leave to appeal – but the court record forming a crucial part of any appeal has vanished.
None of the relevant authorities want to concede that they are responsible for its disappearance and no one wants to pay the R32 000 it will cost for a new set of documents to be drawn up. So the man stays in jail and his sentence ticks by, along with the chances for the appeal to which he is entitled. From the court’s decision earlier this month the background emerges with only a few intriguing details.
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