Mthinta Bhengu was on Monday sentenced in the Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court to 17 years in prison for repeatedly stabbing Mozambican street vendor Emmanuel Sithole until he died.
Sithole was fatally stabbed in Alexandra on 18 April 2015, in broad daylight in full view of onlookers, during a wave of xenophobic violence.
Magistrate Van der Schyff said he took into account that Bhengu was a dangerous man who could pose a danger to society before he sentenced him.
Bhengu’s accomplice, Sifundo Mzimela, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for his part in the brazen murder that was captured on camera by Sunday Times photographer, James Oatway. Both men are in their early 20s.
Van der Schyff said the murder was “senseless, brutal and unnecessary”.
The third accused, who was a minor at the time of the crime, was released and will be supervised by a social worker for the next three years.
– African News Agency (ANA)
