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[QUOTE="Queen, post: 86280, member: 27"]
A collapsed prosecution path cracked open when a higher bench yanked a lower ruling for breaking basic legal rules.

Case setup and repealed charge
[LIST]
[*]Lindiwe Ndlovu was arrested in March 2022.
[*]Charges leaned on section 79 of criminal law.
[*]That provision punished intentional HIV transmission.
[*]Repeal arrived in May 2022 via the Marriages Act.
[/LIST]
The rights argument and the magistrate's response
[LIST]
[*]Her defense pointed to constitutional protection against retroactive punishment.
[*]Section 70(1)(l) blocks convictions for erased offences.
[*]August 2022 saw a bid to kill the charges.
[*]The magistrate leaned on the Interpretation Act section 17.
[/LIST]
Referral fight and rejection
[LIST]
[*]Ndlovu asked for Constitutional Court involvement.
[*]The magistrate dismissed the request as baseless.
[*]Language used tagged the filing as defective.
[*]Reasoning demanded live witness testimony.
[/LIST]
High Court teardown
[LIST]
[*]Justice Maxwell Takuva overturned the lower stance.
[*]He said procedural handling went off the rails.
[*]Live testimony was unnecessary for a pure law question.
[*]Authority was exceeded by weighing constitutional meaning.
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Outcome and next steps
[LIST]
[*]The magistrate's decision was set aside entirely.
[*]Review permission cleared a path upstairs.
[*]Referral to the Constitutional Court was approved.
[*]Legal costs drew no order.
[/LIST]
[/QUOTE]

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