CRIMINAL PROCEDURE AND EVIDENCE ACT
14 What other persons entitled to prosecute
The following shall possess the right of prosecution—
(a) a spouse of the person in respect of whom the offence was committed;
[Paragraph substituted by s. 4 of Act No. 2 of 2016]
(b) the legal guardians or curators of minors or mentally disordered or defective persons, in
respect of offences committed against their wards;
(c) the surviving spouse or children or, where there is no surviving spouse or child, any of
the next-of-kin of any deceased person, in respect of any offence by which the death of
such person is alleged to have been caused;
[Paragraph amended by s. 4 of Act No. 2 of 2016]
(d) public bodies and persons on whom the right is specially conferred by statute, in respect of particular offences.
15 Private prosecutor may apply to court for warrant
Where, by virtue of the right of prosecution given to private parties by section thirteen or
fourteen, any private party desires to prosecute for any offence any person for whose liberation
from prison any warrant has been issued by the Prosecutor-General, such private party may
apply to the High Court or, in case such court is not then sitting, to any judge, for a warrant for
the further detention or, if he is on bail, for the detention of such person, and such court or
judge shall make such order as to it or him seems right under the circumstances.
[Section amended by s. 33 of Act No. 5 of 2014 with effect from 2.1.2015.]
16 Certificate of Prosecutor-General that he or she declines to prosecute
(1) Except as is provided by subsection(4), it shall not he competent for any private party to
obtain the process of any court for summoning any party to answer any charge, unless such
private party produces to the officer authorised by law to issue such process a certificate signed
by the Prosecutor-General that he or she has seen the statements or affidavits on which the
charge is based and declines to prosecute at the public instance, and, subject to the conditions
set forth in subsections (2) and (3), in every case in which the Prosecutor-General declines to
prosecute he or she shall, at the request of the party intending to prosecute, grant the certificate
required.
(2) The Prosecutor-General shall grant the certificate referred to in subsection (1) if—
(a) there is produced to him or her by the private party a written request in the form of a
sworn statement from which it appears to the Prosecutor-General that the private party—
(i) is the victim of the alleged offence, or is otherwise an interested person by virtue
of having personally suffered, as a direct consequence of the alleged offence, an
invasion of a legal right beyond that suffered by the public generally; and
(ii) has the means to conduct the private prosecution promptly and timeously; and
(iii) will conduct the private prosecution as an individual (whether personally or
through his or her legal practitioner), or as the representative of a class of individuals recognised as a class for the purposes of the Class Actions Act [Chapter
8:17] (No. 10 of 1999);
and
(b) no grounds exist in terms of subsection (3) for withholding the certificate.
(3) The Prosecutor-General may refuse to grant the certificate referred to in subsection (1)
upon any one or more of the following grounds, namely—
(a) that the conduct complained of by the private party does not disclose a criminal offence; or
(b) that on the evidence available, there is no possibility (or only a remote possibility) of
proving the charge. against the accused beyond a reasonable doubt; or
(c) whether the person to be prosecuted has adequate means to conduct a defence to the
charge (in the case of any person who. but for the fact that the Prosecutor-General has
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