Wrongful convictions

“Thembekile Molaudzi spent 11 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit, the murder of a policeman. While the only evidence against him was the statement of a co-accused who later recanted his testimony, his appeals were nevertheless dismissed. Fusi Mofokeng and Tshokolo Mokoena are two friends who were at the wrong time and the wrong place after a police officer was killed by a self-defence unit just outside Bethlehem in the Free State, at the tail end of … Read more

Seven years ago Thuba Sithole was accused of committing an armed robbery. Two years after that he was convicted and sentenced to 15 years in Leeuwkop Prison. But the story uncovered by the Wits Justice Project shows shoddy police work, dodgy eyewitness testimony, a dismissive magistrate and a careless defence lawyer resulted in an innocent man being put behind bars. In 2007, Thuba Sithole’s life was very structured. The then-23-year-old woke up every morning to walk an hour to his … Read more