Two members of a township vigilante group were each fined R2,000 or six months jail on Monday, for taking the law into their own hands.
They beat up two men who they suspected of involvement in a house break-in, and tried to hang them with rope.
Lwasi Mkebe, 37, and Xolani Taliwe, 32, both of Langa on the Cape Flats, appeared in the Bellville Regional Court, before magistrate Constance Nziweni.
Both faced charges of attempted murder, but were instead found guilty of the less serious offence of common assault, for their attack on alleged housebreaking suspects Anele Mtati and Unathi Booi in January.
The court heard that Mkebe and Taliwe were members of a township vigilante group that tracked down the two alleged house breaking suspects.
Evidence was that Mkebe and Taliwe attacked them with sticks and stones and their fists, and then with a sjambok.
The court heard that they then tied the two suspects to an electric pylon, before trying to hang them with rope.
Prosecutor Daniel Cloete alleged that the incident was part of a conspiracy, but legal aid advocate Xolile Ndinisa countered that the Langa community had lost confidence in the country’s justice system, and believed that the only way to see justice done was for them to take the law into their own hands.
In addition to the fine, both were also sentenced to six months jail, conditionally suspended for five years.
The magistrate said the court was not satisfied that they had the necessary intention to murder or inflict grievous bodily harm on the two suspects.
But common assault was a competent verdict on a charge of attempted murder, if the element of intention was lacking, she said.
The magistrate warned them that if they were again found guilty of an offence involving violence, perpetrated within the five-year period of suspension, the suspended sentence would be put into operation in addition to the new sentence.
The magistrate said neither of the two had respect for the rule of law.
Contrary to their belief, the country in fact had a workable justice system, and there was no need for anyone to take the law into his or her own hands, she said.
According to their lawyer, the fines were paid.
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