17 and 10 years in jail for Emmanuel Sithole's murderers

01 February 2016 - 16:50 By S'duduzo Dludla
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Mozambique national Emmanuel Sithole was attacked in Alexandra township in Johannesburg on April 18, 2015. He later died from his wounds.
Mozambique national Emmanuel Sithole was attacked in Alexandra township in Johannesburg on April 18, 2015. He later died from his wounds.
Image: JAMES OATWAY Sunday Times.

The two men convicted of murdering Mozambican hawker Emmanuel Josias Sithole have been sentenced‚ one to 17 years and the other to 10 years behind bars.

Mthinto Bhengu was handed the lengthier sentence in the Johannesburg Magistrate's Court on Monday and Sifundo Mzimela sent to prison for a decade.

Bhengu‚ 22‚ and Mzimela‚ 21‚ were found guilty of murder in November and a youth‚ who has since turned 18 years old but may by order of the court not be named‚ was found not guilty of murder but convicted of theft and assault.

Sithole was killed on April 18 last year after demanding money from some of the accused‚ who had taken cigarettes and sweets from his stall without paying.

The attack‚ which happened during a flare-up of xenophobic violence in Johannesburg’s Alexandra township‚ was captured by Sunday Times photographer James Oatway.

Sizwe Mngomezulu‚ 20‚ was also charged but found not guilty. Magistrate Lucas van der Schyff found that he was merely a bystander.

The 18-year-old man received a suspended sentence and he will be supervised by a social worker to ensure that he undergoes rehabilitation and does not abuse drugs again.

On Friday‚ a probation officer from the Walter Sisulu Child and Youth Care Centre‚ Boitumetsi Ditsele‚ testified that the 18-year-old has expressed his sorrow about Sithole's death.

She said he has undergone rehabilitation for substance abuse.

Social worker Wonderful Baloyi‚ who compiled a report on Bhengu for sentencing‚ said Bhengu has a short temper and was convicted in the past of assault with the intent to do grievous bodily harm‚ for which he was sentenced to six months in jail.

The jail time had not deterred Bhengu from violent behaviour‚ Baloyi said. But he believed this was because Bhengu was never exposed to rehabilitation programmes in prison and Baloyi thought Bhengu could benefit from such programmes.

Bhengu consumes alcohol moderately and his mother had said he was under the influence of alcohol when the men attacked Sithole.

Mzimela's mother‚ Zamile Shezi‚ testified on his behalf and said the fact that he grew up without a father in destitute circumstances contributed to his behaviour.

She expressed her grief at Sithole's death and asked for forgiveness from the court and Sithole's family.

- TMG Courts and Law

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