Rough justice meted out to suspected Lesotho cattle rustlers — shooting dead one and cutting off the ears and a hand of each of two others — by KwaZulu-Natal stock owners was visited by 16-year jail sentences by the Pietermaritzburg High Court Friday.
The stock owners were sentenced for the murder of an unknown suspected stock thief, attempted murder of the men whose ears and a hand were cut off, and robbing them in aggravated circumstances.
All the sentences are to run concurrently.
The background to the case is that Drakensberg small-scale stock owners, most of whom have fewer than 10 cattle, are robbed of food and livelihood resources when rustlers drive their livestock over tortuous terrain inaccessible to vehicles into Lesotho. The raiders are often armed and steal on moonlight nights.
The victims, brothers Khotso and Thelang Mohlakoana, told Acting Judge Mike Govindasamy that they were not rustlers but they and Vuyisile Kantokgu had each lugged 50kg of Lesotho dagga into KwaZulu-Natal to sell in the Impendhle area in September 2003.
In KwaZulu-Natal the accused, Mthokozisi Msomi (27) and Sicelo Majozi (34), who had been tasked by Msomi’s father to search for missing cattle, arrested the dagga couriers thinking they were Basotho rustlers.
They ran away but Kantokgu was shot and fell and Msomi, Majozi and a third man caught the Mohlakoanas and tied them up.
Khotso told the court: ”They searched us and took our money. Msomi pointed a firearm at us. They had two handguns and a large gun.
”Majozi took out his knife and sharpened it on a rock. Msomi told us to sit down and tied a rope around our knees.
”Majozi cut my brother’s ears off and threw them down. He then came to me and cut off both my ears and threw them to the ground.
”He went back to my brother and cut his left hand and threw it on the ground. He came back to me and cut my right hand and threw it on the ground. Majozi told us to go.”
Govindasamy gave the defence leave to appeal against the convictions. — Sapa