(1) Where a defendant is accused or convicted of an offence that is punishable with death or imprisonment, the Court may refuse an application for bail if—
(a) the Court is satisfied that there are grounds for believing that the defendant, if released on bail, whether subject to conditions or not would—
(i) fail to surrender to custody,
(ii) commit an offence, or
(iii) interfere with witnesses;
(b) the Court is satisfied that the defendant should be kept in custody for any reason including—
(i) for his or her own protection,
(ii) for the protection of the community, or
(iii) if he or she is a child or young person, for his or her own welfare;
(c) the defendant is in custody in pursuance of the sentence of a Court;
(d) the Court is satisfied that it has not been practicable to obtain sufficient information for the purpose of taking the decisions required by this section for want of time since the institution of the proceedings against the defendant;
(e) having been released on bail in or in connection with the proceedings for the offence, the defendant has been arrested pursuant to section 606;
(f) the defendant's case is adjourned for inquiries or a report and it appears to the Court that it would be impracticable to complete the inquiries or make the report without keeping the defendant in custody;
(g) the defendant is charged with an offence alleged to have been committed while he or she was released on bail; or
(h) the defendant has been convicted of a similar offence previously.
(2) In the exercise of its discretion under subsection (1), the Court shall have regard to any relevant factor including the following—
(a) the nature and seriousness of the offence or default, and the probable method of dealing with the defendant for it;
(b) the character, antecedents, associations and community ties of the defendant;
(c) the defendant's record as regards the fulfilment of his or her obligations under previous grants of bail; and
(d) the strength of the evidence of his or her having committed the offence or having defaulted except where the defendant's case is adjourned for inquires or a report.
(3) Where the defendant is accused or convicted of an offence that is not punishable with imprisonment, the Court may refuse an application for bail if—
(a) the defendant has absconded as provided in section 606 and the Court believes that in view of that failure, the defendant, if released on bail, would fail to surrender to custody;
(b) it is believed the defendant should be kept in custody for his or her own protection or if he or she is a child or young person, for his or her own welfare;
(c) the defendant is in custody in pursuance of a sentence of a Court; or
(d) the defendant, having been released on bail in or in connection with the proceedings for the offence has been arrested pursuant to section 606.
(4) Only a judge may hear an application for bail by, or grant or refuse bail to, a person who—
(a) is charged with—
(i) murder,
(ii) treason,
(iii) rape, or
(iv) sexual intercourse with a child under the age of 12 years contrary to section 126 or 128,
(v) an offence against the Firearms Act or the Drugs (Prevention of Misuse) Act which is triable on indictment and which carries a maximum punishment that exceeds 5 years; or
(b) has been convicted and sentenced to imprisonment or death in respect of an offence referred to in paragraph (a) and who has given notice of his or her intention to appeal against his or her conviction or sentence.
(5) Where the appeal in respect of a person referred to in subsection (4)(b) is not heard within a period of 6 months from the date of his or her conviction he or she may apply to the Court of Appeal for bail pending the determination of his or her appeal.
(6) For the purposes of this section—
(a) the question whether an offence is one punishable with imprisonment shall be determined without regard to any enactment prohibiting or restricting the imprisonment of young offenders or first offenders;
(b) references to previous grants of bail include references to bail granted before the coming into force of this Code;
(c) references to a defendant being kept in custody or being in custody include, where the defendant is a child or young person, references to his or her being kept in custody at a Government Industrial School in pursuance of an order under section 9 of the Children and Young Persons Act;
(d) “default” in relation to the defendant, means the default for which he or she is so to be dealt with in breach of a probation order;
[The next page is page 282A]
(e) "judge" includes the Chief Justice, a judge of the Court of Appeal or a judge of the High Court but does not include a master or a magistrate.
(Amended by Act 39 of 2006)