(1)A person is said to do an act intentionally where that person does an act deliberately.
Section history
Section 26C — “Intentionally”
As in force on 1 March 2022.
Timeline 3 versions
- 10 February 2020 Act 15 of 2019, Act 2 of 2020
- 1 July 2020 Act 15 of 2019
- 1 March 2022 You are here
- 17 August 2026 Latest
(2)A person is said to cause an effect intentionally where that person does anything that causes an effect —
(a)with the purpose of causing that effect; or
(b)knowing that that effect would be virtually certain (barring an unforeseen intervention) to result.
(3)To avoid doubt, a person does not intend or foresee a result of his acts by reason only of it being a natural and probable consequence of those acts.
(4)To avoid doubt, nothing in this section prevents a court from relying on a person’s foresight that a certain effect was a probable consequence of his act as a basis to draw an inference that the person caused that effect intentionally.
Explanation.—Intention is distinct from motive or desire, and a person may do an act or cause an effect intentionally even if doing so was not his motive or he had no desire to do so.