A, B, C and D allegedly rob a Town Bank, which is located in the city of Cape Town. Members of the South African Police Services (SAPS) are called to the scene of the crime, during which a shoot-out ensues between police and the robbers. Two of the robbers, A and B manage to escape with an undisclosed amount of the loot. C who is holed up inside the bank, is arrested by Sgt. F, whilst trying to walk out through the main door of the bank. D (who is unarmed) is ordered by Capt. G to surrender. D declines the order, and instead runs away in the opposite direction. H, a client of the bank (and, a civilian), who just happened to be present on the scene, produces his licenced firearm and fires a shot into D's back, critically wounding him. H arrests D and hands him over to G for detention. An R4 Rifle which was allegedly used by the assailants is found abandoned on the floor of the bank.

4.1 The subsequent trial is heard before regional court magistrate M, who sits with an assessor, Q, for the duration of the proceedings. It comes to the attention of L, A, B, C and D's attorney, that Q is, in fact, a shareholder of City Bank, which was allegedly robbed by the accused. Discuss the process and the circumstances under which the recusal of Q as assessor may be embarked upon to ensure the fairness of the trial. (10)

4.2 During the subsequent trial E, who is testifying for the prosecution, refuses, upon being requested to do so by the court, to take the prescribed oath "because the taking of an oath is not in agreement with her intellectual beliefs".

(a) Briefly discuss whether E's objection can be upheld by the court, and/ or whether any alternatives can be pursued to accommodate her objections. (6)

(b) One of the eyewitnesses to the robbery, F was previously diagnosed with cerebral palsy. L, the accused's attorney, is the view that such a witness is not competent to testify before a court because of her "apparent mental deficiency". Briefly discuss the weight or otherwise of L's argument. (4)