VAN DER WESTHUIZEN J “Accused 4 is 20 years old. He is not married and has no children. He passed matric in KwaZulu-Natal. He was arrested on 31 January 1999 when he was a student at the Boston College. His parents are both pensioners. He has a previous conviction for robbery.”25 [27] Later it is stated that Mr Mpofu is 20 years old and that his age could be a mitigating factor: “Accused 1 and 4 are the youngest. Accused 1, at this stage, is in his early 20s, he was 19 when the incident occurred and I was informed that accused 4 is 20 years of age. The youthfulness of accused 1 and 4 is a factor that I must consider and could be a mitigating factor, at least to an extent which may influence me to differentiate between their sentences and those of the other accused.”26 [28] The judgment later returns to the question of age stating that it is a concern that people “in their late teens” are committing such violent crimes.27 I later return to the High Court judgment. The parties’ submissions and the evidence presented [29] Mr Mpofu submits that his date of birth is 25 September 1981 and that the High Court accepted that his age was 20 at the time of sentencing. He relies on the wording of the High Court judgment. 25 Id at 27. 26 Id at 29. 27 Id at 30. 13