It's been a big year for the courts ? a president was toppled; the country's top judges were taken to task; the principle of the separation of powers was tested; and some heinous killers were finally put behind bars.

We bring you the top 10 trials of 2008.

STATE VS WATERKLOOF FOUR

• Accused: Christoff Becker, Frikkie du Preez, Gert van Schalkwyk and Reinach Tiedt.
• Charge: Murder and assault. The Four were alleged to have assaulted two unidentified black men, one of whom died, in Morelata Park in 2001. The accused were 16 years old at the time.
• Court: Pretoria Regional Court.
• Magistrate: Len Kotze.
• Verdict: Guilty.
• Sentence: All four were sentenced to 12 years imprisonment with an additional two months for the assault charge.
• Related cases: Although they were eventually found guilty in 2005, the Four appealed the verdict and sentences and were granted bail whilst awaiting the outcome of the appeal. The Supreme Court of Appeal unanimously turned down their appeal in August 2008 and the Four began their sentences at Pretoria Central Prison.

STATE VS ANDREW JORDAAN

• Accused: Andrew Jordaan
• Charge: Murder, kidnapping, rape and indecent assault. Jordaan was alleged to have kidnapped and murdered seven-year-old Sheldean Human in 2007 and indecently assaulted and raped her eight-year-old friend.

• Court: Pretoria High Court.
• Judge: Acting Judge Chris Eksteen.
• Verdict: Guilty.
• Sentence: On sentencing, Acting Judge Eksteen said: "The Public has a right to be protected from a person like you." He sentenced Jordaan to life imprisonment (25 years), with an additional three years for kidnapping, 10 years for attempted rape, five years for indecent assault and 15 years for rape. The sentences will run concurrently.

STATE VS JEPPESTOWN 13

• Accused: Nkosinathi Mzamo Mchunu, Sizwe Mbuyazi, Khumbulani Mabaso, Sizwe Dlamini, Sihle Mdunge, Muzulelwa Vezi, Siyanda Mgomezulu, Linda Hlongwa, Bekokwakhe Zule, Mhlomme Sesiba, Zinto Mqunu, Senzo Mweli, and Mary Dineo Maleke.
• Charge: Murder of four members of the South African Police Services. Inspectors Frederick van Heerden and Victor Nzama Mathye, Sergeant Gert Schoeman and Constable Pieter Seaward were killed in the bloody Jeppestown shootout, which followed a botched robbery of a Honeydew Pick 'n Pay on 25 June 2006. Twelve civilians, thought to have been part of the gang, were also killed.
• Court: Johannesburg High Court.
• Judge: Ratha Mokgoatlheng.
• Verdict: 11 of the accused were found guilty of murder. Senzo Mweli was found guilty of being the instigator of the robbery and Pick 'n Pay employee Mary Dineo Maleke was acquitted because of a lack of evidence.
• Sentence: the 11 found guilty of murder were give life (25 years) sentences and Mweli was given 20 years.

STATE VS NAJWA PETERSEN

• Accused: Najwa Petersen.
• Co-accused: Waheed Hassen, Abdoer Raasiet Emjedi and Jefferson Snyders.
• Charge: Murder and aggravated robbery. Petersen and her co-accused were charged with shooting and killing her entertainer husband Taliep Petersen in his home on 16 December 2006 in what was meant to look like a botched robbery.
• Court: Cape High Court.
• Judge: Siraj Desai.
• Verdict: Najwa Petersen and two of her co-accused, Abdoer Emjedi and Waheed Hassan, were found guilty of murder and robbery with aggravating circumstances. Jefferson Snyders was found not guilty of murder, but convicted in one count of robbery with aggravating circumstances.
• Sentence: Sentencing set for 4 February 2009.

STATE VS JOHAN NEL

• Accused: Johan Nel.
• Charge: Murder of Enoch Tshepho Motshelanoka (10), Anna Moiphitlhi (31), her three-month-old baby Kegitlho Elizabeth Moiphitlhi, and Sivuyile Banani (35). Attempted murder of eight others. On 14 January 2008, the 18-year-old Nel went on a racially-motivated shooting rampage in the township of Skierlik. He pleaded guilty to all charges.
• Court: Mmabatho High Court.
• Judge: Ronald Hendricks.
• Verdict: Guilty.
• Sentence: Nel was sentenced to four life sentences for the murders, and additional 68 years for the attempted murders, and a further eight years for the possession of a firearm and ammunition (a total of 176 years).

STATE VS ARTHUR BROWN

• Accused: Fidentia boss Arthur Brown.
• Co-accused: former co-accused, Fidentia financial director Graham Maddock was sentenced to an effective seven years after a plea bargain.
• Charge: Fraud and theft. Brown is alleged to have used R5.5-million in Infinity loyalty programme funds to pay salaries and other expenses of Fidentia companies, and to have swindled a company called Fundi Projects of R3-million.
• Court: Cape Town Regional Court.
• Magistrate: Jasthree Steyn.
• Verdict: Case ongoing.
• Related cases: An application has been brought before the Cape High Court for all the charges in the Fidentia investigation (including a second court case involving the suspended chief executive of the Transport Education Training Authority, and a third case involving Brown's wife and the Antheru Trust) to be consolidated into one case, before one court.

STATE VS NKOLA MOTATA

• Accused: Pretoria High Court Judge Nkola Motata.
• Charge: Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, with an alternate charge of reckless or negligent driving. He also faces a charge of defeating the ends of justice with an alternate charge of resisting arrest. Motata crashed his Jaguar into the perimeter wall of a Hurlingham property in January 2007, whilst allegedly drunk.
• Court: Johannesburg Magistrate's Court.
• Magistrate: Desmond Nair.
• Verdict: Case ongoing.

JOHN HLOPHE VS CONSTITUTIONAL COURT

• The Applicant: Judge John Hlophe.
• The Respondent: the Constitutional Court.
• Charge: Hlophe claimed that the Constitutional Court judges had violated his rights when they publically claimed that he had tried to influence Judge Bess Nkabinde and Acting Judge Chris Jafta whilst they prepared a judgment on whether ANC president Jacob Zuma should be entitled to challenge aspects of the corruption case he faced.
• Court: Johannesburg High Court.
• Judge: Phineas Mojapelo
• Verdict: The High Court found that the Constitutional Court had violated Hlophe's rights to dignity and equality in the way it had lodged (and publicised) its complaint with the JSC. The Court's publication of its allegations was unlawful, but not the action of filing the complaint. Said Judge Mojapelo: "The process before the JSC, particularly the complaint against the applicant, remains totally uncontaminated and will be determined on a different basis from the issues decided in this judgment".
• Related cases: The Constitutional Court judges have sought leave to appeal against the Johannesburg High Court's ruling.

HUGH GLENISTER VS THE STATE

• The Applicant: Hugh Glenister.
• The Respondent: The State.
• Charge: Glenister attempted to stop the government from proceeding with legislation to disband the Scorpions, arguing that the ANC had vested interests in getting rid of the crime-fighting unit.
• Court: The Pretoria High Court struck the case from the roll on the grounds that it had no jurisdiction to hear the case. The Constitutional Court rejected Glenister's challenge on the principle of separation of powers. Chief Justice Pius Langa said that it was inappropriate for the court to intervene before the legislation was passed by Parliament.
• Related cases: Prior to the vote in Parliament, Glenister launched an urgent interdict before the Cape High Court in a last-ditch attempt to prevent the MPs involved in the Travelgate scam (investigated by the Scorpions) from voting on the two bills in the National Assembly to disband the Scorpions. Glenister's challenge was once again rejected.

STATE VS JACOB ZUMA

• Accused: Jacob Zuma.
• Charges: Racketeering, four charges of corruption, a charge of money laundering and 12 charges of fraud.
• Court: Pietermaritzburg High Court.
• Judge: Chris Nicholson.
• Verdict: Nicholson ruled that the NPA's decision to charge Zuma was unlawful because he had not been allowed to make representations to the National Director of Public Prosecutions before he was charged. He also suggested that there was an element of political interference in the prosecution of Zuma. This ruling led to the ousting of president Thabo Mbeki.
• Related cases: The NPA has appealed to the Supreme Court of Appeal to have the Nicholson ruling overturned. The Supreme Court of Appeal has reserved judgment until 12 January 2009.

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