The Genesis of the Common Purpose Doctrine in South Africa

This contribution seeks to assess whether the generally accepted narrative of the emergence of the common purpose doctrine in South African law, as set out in Rabie's analysis of the doctrine, is indeed correct. In particular the following questions are examined: (i) Did the common purpose doctrine derive from English roots? (ii) Were the means of entry into South African law the Native Territories Penal Code? (iii) Did the doctrine indeed emerge in South African case law in 1917, in the Appellate Division case of McKenzie v Van der Merwe?