Life imprisonment in South Africa - wikipedia Life imprisonment in South Africa Life imprisonment in South Africa has an indeterminate length and may last for the remainder of the offender 's life. It is a mandatory punishment for premeditated murder, gang rape, serial rape and rape where the rapist knew they were HIV positive or if the victim was under 18 and / or mentally disabled. In certain circumstances, robberies and hijackings ( and aircraft hijacking ) also carry a mandatory life sentence. Section 51 of South Africa 's Criminal Law Amendment Act of 1997 prescribes the minimum sentences for other types of murders, rapes and robberies to 25, 15 and 10 years respectively, so parole is almost always granted to prisoners serving life sentences after the minimum sentence for the lesser crime has been served. However, a prisoner must be given a parole hearing after having served 25 years. In special cases, life imprisonment without any possibility of parole or pardon for an extensively long period of time ( such as 1,000 years ) can be imposed, such as in the case of serial killer Moses Sithole. References `` Criminal Law Amendment Act 105 of 1997 '' ( PDF ). justice.gov.za. Retrieved 24 March 2013. SS Terblanche. `` Mandatory and minimum sentences : Considering s 51 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act 1997 '' ( PDF ). UNISA. Retrieved 24 March 2013. Further reading Germaner, Shane ( 19 January 2012 ). `` Rape victim 's parole shock ''. The Star. Retrieved 4 May 2013. New legislation came into effect last year stating that any prisoner who received a life sentence before 2004 can now apply for parole after serving at least 13 years and four months of their sentence. `` Placement on parole and correctional supervision : How the process affects the offender '' ( PDF ). DCS. 2012. Retrieved 4 May 2013. Law enforcement in South Africa Department of Police South African Police Service Crime Intelligence Hawks National Intervention Unit NFDD Special Task Force Municipal Police Independent Police Investigative Directorate Department of Correctional Services Prisons Life imprisonment Crime Sexual violence ( Corrective rape ) Xenophobic violence Farm attacks Taxi wars Terrorism Corruption Human trafficking Kidnapping Commissions of Inquiry Farlam Commission Khayelitsha Commission See also Law Private security industry Gun politics Biometrics use Scorpions ( The Directorate of Special Operations ) Public Protector Life imprisonment in Africa Sovereign states Algeria Angola Benin Botswana Burkina Faso Burundi Cameroon Cape Verde ( Cabo Verde ) Central African Republic Chad Comoros Democratic Republic of the Congo Republic of the Congo Djibouti Egypt Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Ethiopia Gabon The Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea - Bissau Ivory Coast ( Côte d'Ivoire ) Kenya Lesotho Liberia Libya Madagascar Malawi Mali Mauritania Mauritius Morocco Mozambique Namibia Niger Nigeria Rwanda São Tomé and Príncipe Senegal Seychelles Sierra Leone Somalia South Africa South Sudan Sudan Swaziland Tanzania Togo Tunisia Uganda Zambia Zimbabwe States with limited recognition Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic Somaliland Dependencies and other territories Canary Islands / Ceuta / Melilla / ( see also plazas de soberanía ) ( Spain ) Madeira ( Portugal ) Mayotte / Réunion ( France ) Saint Helena / Ascension Island / Tristan da Cunha ( United Kingdom ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Life_imprisonment_in_South_Africa&oldid=813295498 '' Categories : Life imprisonment by country South African law Penal system in South Africa Talk About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 2 December 2017, at 23 : 02. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: how long is life in prison in south africa
Answer: an indeterminate length and may last for the remainder of the offender's life