(6) A certificate purporting to be signed by the Attorney-General or his deputy and stating that any record,
document or article was produced or obtained in response to a request in terms of section 10 of the Criminal
Matters (Mutual Assistance) Act [Chapter 9:06] shall be admissible in evidence in any court on its mere production by any person, and shall be prima facie proof of the facts stated therein.
(7) This section shall not be construed as affectin g the admissibility under any other law of any record,
document or article referred to in subsection (1).
[Section as inserted by section 2 of Act No. 8 of 1998.)
F. Evidence of accomplices
267 Accomplices as witnesses for prosecution
(1) When the prosecutor at any trial informs the court that any person produced by him or her as a witness on
behalf of the prosecution has, in his or her opinion, been an accomplice, either as principal or accessory, in the
commission of the offence alleged in the charge, such person shall, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in
this Act, be compelled to be sworn or to make affirmation as a witness and to answer any question the reply to
which would tend to incriminate him or her in respect of such offence.
[Subsection substituted by section 22 of Act 9 of 2006.]
(2) If a person referred to in subsection (1) fully answers to the satisfaction of the court all such lawful questions as may be put to him, he shall, subject to subsection (3), be discharged from all liability to prosecution for
the offence concerned and the court or magistrate, as the case may be, shall cause such discharge to be entered on
the record of the proceedings.
(3) A discharge in terms of subsection (2) shall be of no effect and the entry thereof on the record of the proceedings shall be deleted if, when called as a witness at the trial of any person upon a charge of having committed
the offence concerned, the person concerned refuses to be sworn or to make affirmation as a witness or refuses or
fails to answer fully to the satisfaction of the court all such lawful questions as may be put to him.
[Subsection amended by section 22 of Act 9 of 2006.]
268 Evidence of accomplice cannot be used against him
No evidence given by an accomplice on behalf of the prosecution at any trial in respect of any offence shall, if
the said accomplice is thereafter prosecuted for such offence, be admissible in evidence against him at his trial:
Provided that if such accomplice is subsequently prosecuted for perjury or for an offence in terms of subsection (3) of section one hundred and fifty arising from the giving of such evidence, nothing contained in this section shall prevent the admission against him in evidence at his trial for the said perjury or for such offence of the
evidence so given.
[Seection amended by section 28 of Act 9 of 2006.]
G. Sufficiency of evidence
269 Sufficiency of one witness in criminal cases, except perjury and treason
It shall be lawful for the court by which any person prosecuted for any offence is tried to convict such person
of any offence alleged against him in the indictment, summons or charge under trial on the single evidence of any
competent and credible witness:
Provided that it shall not be competent for any court—
(a) to convict any person of perjury on the evidence of any one witness as to the falsity of any statement
made by the accused unless, in addition to and independently of the testimony of such witness, some
other competent and credible evidence as to the falsity of such statement is given to such court;
(b) to convict any person of treason, except upon the evidence of two witnesses where one overt act is
charged in the indictment or, where two or more such overt acts are so charged, upon the evidence of
one witness to each such overt act;
(c) to convict any person on the single evidence of any witness of an offence in respect of which provision
to the contrary is made by any enactment.
270 Conviction on single evidence of accomplice, provided the offence is proved aliunde
Any court which is trying any person on a charge of any offence may convict him of any offence alleged
against him in the indictment, summons or charge under trial on the single evidence of any accomplice:
Provided that the offence has, by competent evidence other than the single and unconfirmed evidence of the
accomplice, been proved to the satisfaction of such court to have been actually committed.
271 Procedure on plea of guilty
(1) Where a person arraigned before the High Court on any charge pleads guilty to the offence charged or to
any other offence of which he might be found guilty on that charge and the prosecutor accepts that plea, the court
may, if the accused has pleaded guilty to any offence other than murder, convict and sentence him for that offence
without hearing any evidence.
(2) Where a person arraigned before a magistrates court on any charge pleads guilty to the offence charged or
to any other offence of which he might be found guilty on that charge and the prosecutor accepts that plea —
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