6 INTERMEDIARY: What grade are you doing now? WITNESS: Nine INTERMEDIARY: Grade 9. COURT: 1994/7 and what day? INTERMEDIARY: You said what date you were born? WITNESS: 18 July. COURT: 18. WITNESS: July. The magistrate then directed the following question to the appellant’s legal representative: ‘COURT: Okay. Mr Ramouthar, are you prepared to accept the witness is competent to give evidence? MR RAMOUTHAR: That’s correct, Your Worship.’ [7] Firstly, it cannot be accepted that the magistrate managed to determine merely from such an elementary line of questioning pertaining to the complainant’s age, date of birth and level of education that the complainant was competent to testify. Secondly, the appellant’s legal representative was not qualified to express an opinion on the complainant’s competency. It is not clear on what basis his opinion was solicited by the magistrate nor on what basis he expressed it. The magistrate reverted to the complainant and posed the following questions: ‘COURT: Do you believe in God, P? WITNESS: Yes. COURT: And do you believe that if you promised God that you would speak the truth about something, that you took an oath to God to speak the truth, do you believe that if you then went