Man finally free after 11 years of wrongful imprisonment
JOBURG - The Constitutional Court has ordered the immediate release of Thembekile Molaudzi, who was sentenced to life imprisonment on four counts including murder and robbery more than 10 years prior.
Molaudzi, a former taxi driver based in Pretoria was accused of being involved in the murder of a Mothutlung policeman, Dingaan Makuna in 2002 after he was identified by a member of the victims family.
According to article by Carolyn Raphaely of the Wits Justice Project, the only evidence against Molaudzi was that of a co-accused’s statement. The co-accused was later identified as a liar by the North West High Court.
“No gun residue was found, there were no witnesses, no independent corroboration, no fingerprints and no tangible evidence linking him to the crime. All the accused pleaded not guilty but all were convicted and sentenced to life by Justice Monica Leeuw, now NW Judge President,” Raphaely reported.
According to Raphaely, Molaudzi faced a great battle in obtaining his transcripts, which took him roughly eight years to receive, which exhausted all of his means. His prayers were answered when the Court appointed Advocate Donrich Jordaan and with the help of Nigel Carpenter, a senior state advocate and both of the advocates told the court that certain evidence was inadmissible and unconstitutional.
Raphaely said, “This is a shocking miscarriage of justice and Molaudzi is not alone… There needs to be determination by the individual who has been wrongfully convicted of a crime.”
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