The Thohoyandou High Court sent a strong message to groups who believe that mob justice is the answer to curbing crime in communities. On Tuesday, nine residents of Tshivhilwi village were sent to life imprisonment after being found guilty on charges of murder and kidnapping.
The incident happened on 24 February 2014. At the time, the accused were all members of the local Community Policing Forum (CPF). During the court case, testimony was given that the group of men went out to search for a suspect or suspects responsible for the theft of, among other things, a cellphone.
State witnesses testified that the group found Vhonani Sabara, whom they accused of being in possession of a stolen cellphone. He was tied up and severely assaulted. The group then went in search of whom they believed was another suspect. Shortly afterwards, they confronted Thanziela Mailanombe. He was also severely assaulted and dragged along but was later released.
The group then took the badly injured Sabara to the local headman's kraal. At that stage, his clothes were torn, and he was unable to talk. Sabara later died from the injuries sustained, which included injuries to his chest and head. The men used sjamboks and hosepipes to assault their victim and kicked him.
Following the incident, 12 people were arrested, of which one turned state witness. The accused who were prosecuted are Avhakholwi Tshivhase (40), Joko Mudzanani (51), Kuvhanganani Abraham Mudau (45), Ntshengedzeni Patrick Muthegu (49), Nthambeleni Obert Lukhwareni (52), Maanda Nephalama (27), Mpho Sidney Musundwa (29), Azwianewi Mphathele (40), Patrick Muthegu and Lufuno Khohomela. Two of the accused, Livhuwani Shela Khohomela and Patrick Rudzani Mathaulula (33), died before the trial started.
The men all pleaded not guilty to the charges levelled against them. They conveniently tried to shift the blame to one of the accused who had died, Patrick Mathaulula.
Judge Khami Makhafola was not convinced of their innocence and said that the evidence provided by the State's witnesses was overwhelming. He believed that they were lying to cover up their deeds and never accepted responsibility for their actions.
Judge Makhafola sentenced all the accused to life imprisonment on the murder charge. He further sentenced them to eight years in prison on the first charge of kidnapping and six years on the second kidnapping charge. The court ordered that the sentences for the kidnapping charges run concurrently with the life sentence.
The news of the sentences is still slowly sinking in at Tshivhilwi village, a rural village not far from Thohoyandou. The chairperson of the village's headman committee, Mr Edson Mawela, said that they had heard about the sentencing when members of the local civic organisation had come to the headman's kraal.
"We have resolved to have a meeting on Sunday at the headman's kraal to discuss the matter," he said. All community members are invited to attend this meeting.
A family member of the murdered man, Lutendo Sabara, said the incident had had a huge impact on the family and they still found coping with the situation difficult. He said even though the accused had now been sentenced to life imprisonment, this would not bring back their family member, who had been brutally beaten to death.
The spokesperson for the Limpopo Division of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), Ms Mashudu Malabi-Dzhangi, said that the NPA welcomed the sentence and hoped that it emphasised the fact that people should not take the law into their own hands.