A series of 49 photographs helped bring justice for Emmanuel Sithole . The murder of the Alexandra trader was caught on camera by Sunday Times photographer James Oatway. It made headlines around the world, coming as it did after days of violent attacks on foreigners in South Africa.Following legal advice, and in the public interest, the Sunday Times in this instance agreed to provide the court with the original photographs taken at the scene.Now Mthintho Bhengu and Sfundo Mzimela have been found guilty of acting with common purpose to kill the young Mozambican father on April 18.The Johannesburg Central Magistrate's Court this week heard that the four men initially arrested for the murder were so drunk on that Saturday morning that they were not even aware of the xenophobic violence that had erupted near Madala Hostel in Alexandra the night before.In summarising the evidence led during the swift trial, magistrate Lucas van der Schyff referred to the photographs submitted as evidence.Photographs one to seven showed Sithole lying on the ground with Mzimela standing over him holding a wrench.Photograph 10 showed Bhengu rushing over to them, an Okapi in his hand. Bhengu moved in, and photograph 14 showed him stabbing Sithole in the chest.full_story_image_hleft1On Friday, Bhengu and Mzimela were convicted of Sithole's murder. The court found that they had acted out of "revenge" and with a common purpose to kill.Van der Schyff said a postmortem on Sithole found that he had a stab wound in the upper arm , a clear sign that he had tried to block the knife .He lost a lot of blood and could have died due to a lack of oxygen as a result of the blood loss.The case against a third accused, 20-year-old Sizwe Mngomezulu, was discharged as there was no evidence that he took part in the attack.The fourth accused, a 17-year-old who cannot be identified as he is a minor, is shown in another photograph running towards Sithole with a butcher knife.story_article_right1He was prevented from using the knife by a bystander, who testified that he saw the teenager kick Sithole as he lay on the ground.The court heard that it was just after 7am on the day of the murder when the teenager stole a loose cigarette and two sweets from Sithole's stall.Sithole, who was unarmed, ran after the boy and his friends, who rounded on him.The teenager was found guilty of theft only.His mother spoke outside court this week, saying: "If I had the opportunity to apologise to the Sithole family, I would do so on behalf of my son."She said of Sithole: "I called him my friend. I bought sweets from him every morning. He was a cheerful man. It really pains me to know my son was the cause of taking another person's life."The teenager is being held at a place of safety until December 4 when he, Bhengu and Mzimela are scheduled to be sentenced.Prosecutor Jacob Tloubatla said the state did not have enough evidence to link the murder to the xenophobic attacks taking place in South Africa at the time.Other Mozambican traders on the same street were not harmed, Tloubatla said.sub_head_start Readers gave generously to family sub_head_endThe horrific murder of Sithole shocked Sunday Times readers - and they opened their hearts and wallets to help his family.After publishing shocking images of the attack in Alexandra, the Sunday Times was inundated with offers of help from readers, some as far afield as London.Today, 48 hours after two of the men involved in the attack were convicted of murder, we can report that our fund raised R111000.Generous readers gave whatever they could, with amounts ranging from R28 to R5000.Some of the money has already been used to deliver food and other supplies to the family Sithole left behind in Nhachunga in northern Mozambique.full_story_image_hleft2Deborah Cockerell was among those who felt compelled to act."Emmanuel has deeply touched a lot of our hearts," she said. "I have never cried so much for a stranger and his family. Because of all the photos, I feel his pain and agony as if he was my brother."Sithole was killed amid a wave of xenophobic violence in various parts of the country. The attack on him, which became a symbol of the wider violence, was captured by award-winning photographer James Oatway.Oatway helped to take the wounded Sithole to hospital, but doctors could not save him.Matthew Thompson from London set up an account and helped to raise R7200.He wrote: "Maybe together we can get [the Sithole family] a brick house built."Another reader donated R5000 but asked to remain anonymous.He wrote: "Thanks for your courage in putting this horrific event on the front page. It disturbed me to the core and gave me nightmares but it was very necessary."The Sunday Times worked with Mozambique's Foundation for Community Development, which delivered food, clothes, household goods, a bicycle and a water tank, the family's most pressing needs.There is still R87962 left in the readers' fund for the family's additional needs.The foundation said Sithole's family had thanked Sunday Times readers for their generosity. - additional reporting Monica Laganparsadndabenik@sundaytimes.co.za..