- S v Essop (Case no 432/2020) [2021] ZASCA 66 (1 June 2021) (SCA)

Mr Aadiel Essop, the accused, pleaded guilty before the regional court (“the trial court”) on 45 counts of contravening section 24B(1)(a) of the Films and Publications Act 65 of 1996 (hereinafter referred to as the “Publications Act”), as well as one count of common law kidnapping (Afrikaans: “gemenereg menseroof”).

Accordingly, a section 112(2) of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977 (“the CPA”) statement was handed in. The State/prosecution led no evidence.

All 46 counts supra were taken together for the purposes of sentencing, whereupon the trial court sentenced the accused to ten years’ incarceration.

On appeal by the accused against sentence only before the High Court in Pretoria, the appeal was dismissed and the sentence of ten years’ incarceration confirmed.

On further appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeal (“the SCA”), the appeal was heard by a “three judges bench”.

In the SCA, the SCA referred to the section 112(2) of the CPA statement supra made by the accused. According to the statement, the accused, on 22 June 2014 visited the Lenasia shopping mall in the vicinity of Johannesburg. En route back to his residence, as he drove in the direction of Johannesburg South, he noticed the complainant at an intersection. He stopped at the traffic light and the complainant knocked on his car’s window. She asked for a lift to the nearby squatter camp. He allowed her to get into his car.

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[This is only an extract of an article published in Pollex in Servamus: June 2022. If you are interested in reading the rest of the article, send an e-mail to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to find out what you need to do. Ed.]