- The Supreme Court of Appeal has overturned Quentin Arlow’s conviction for attempted murder and his five-year prison sentence.
- New ballistic and medical evidence revealed that the complainant’s ankle injury did not match what would be expected from a 9mm bullet fired through a car door.
- The court found that significant failures in the investigation created reasonable doubt, resulting in Arlow’s acquittal.
A decade after a police chase in Mpumalanga left a motorist wounded, the Supreme Court of Appeal has cleared SAPS Captain Quentin Arlow of attempted murder, finding that crucial forensic evidence had fundamentally undermined the State’s case.
The unanimous judgment, delivered by Acting Judge MV Phatshoane with Acting Judge K Matojane and Judge M Smith agreeing, set aside both Arlow’s conviction and his five-year prison sentence after considering new expert evidence that had not been available during the original trial.
The shooting outside Kruger National Park
The case began with an incident on 12 July 2016 near Mkhuhlu, just outside Kruger National Park, where Arlow was part of an anti-rhino poaching team. Prosecutors said he chased Leonard Last Nkosi after Nkosi drove away from a checkpoint, blocked his car and intentionally fired a shot through the driver’s door, hitting him in the right ankle.
Arlow pleaded not guilty. He consistently said the firearm went off accidentally as he tried to avoid being run over by Nkosi’s vehicle during the arrest.
The Regional Court convicted him of attempted murder and sentenced him to five years in prison. The High Court in Mbombela later rejected his appeal, accepting the State’s argument that he had deliberately aimed and fired his weapon.
Civil lawsuit uncovers decisive forensic evidence
The turning point came during Nkosi’s later civil claim for about R27 million against the Minister of Police. During that trial, SAPS forensic ballistic expert Lieutenant Colonel Lucas Visser examined the complainant’s BMW and found that the physical evidence did not support the prosecution’s theory.
He said a 9mm bullet passing through two layers of metal, plastic and rubber would become unstable, making it impossible to cause the 5mm entrance wound and 3mm exit wound noted in the medical report.
Orthopaedic surgeon Dr Deodat Maré reached the same conclusion, stating that the ankle injury and its wound pattern could not have been caused by a destabilised 9mm bullet. The State did not dispute either expert’s evidence at the Supreme Court of Appeal.
Investigative failures undermined the prosecution
Judge Phatshoane said the new evidence revealed serious shortcomings in both the police investigation and the prosecution.
The court called it “lamentable” that the clear difference between the size of a 9mm bullet and the much smaller wounds described in the J88 medical report was never properly investigated during the trial.
He also stressed that prosecutors have a constitutional duty not just to secure convictions, but to help courts find the truth and ensure justice is done.
Reasonable doubt required an acquittal
After reviewing the new expert evidence along with the original trial record, the Supreme Court of Appeal found that there was a reasonable possibility that Arlow’s account of an accidental discharge was true.
The court ruled that the State could no longer prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Nkosi’s injury had been caused by a bullet fired from Arlow’s service pistol. Because the facts around the injury were now uncertain, no alternative conviction could legally be given.
The appeal was upheld, Arlow’s conviction and sentence were set aside, and the High Court’s order was replaced with an acquittal, ending his 10-year legal battle.
Get your news on the go. Click here to follow the Conviction WhatsApp channel.
