Cape Town - The Western Cape High Court has convicted 14 men of the murder of six men in 2014.
In a statement released on Friday, provincial spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) Eric Ntabazalila said the men were convicted on Thursday.
The group was convicted of six counts of kidnapping, six counts of premeditated murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
Initially there were 15 suspects, but one was acquitted of all charges.
Ntabazalila said 13 of the 14 accused were convicted of the six kidnapping and six premeditated murder charges. One suspect was only convicted of a charge of conspiracy to commit murder.
The police discovered the six naked bodies on December 10, 2014. The victims’ hands were tied behind their backs and their feet were also bound.
The court heard that the police investigation revealed that the six victims were kidnapped on the afternoon of December 9, 2014, and were assaulted and tied up at a house in Ngwenya Street in Wallacedene, Kraaifontein.
The investigation revealed that the victims were kept at the residence and were still alive that evening until they were taken to a field next to the Joostenbergvlakte in Kraaifontein, where they were stoned, stabbed and left for dead. The bodies were discovered the following day.
The ringleader of the group of men and the initiator, Bangikhaya Koni, is serving his sentence after pleading guilty to the crimes in November 2017. He was sentenced to six life terms for the murders and 30 years for the kidnappings.
According to Ntabazalila, the motive for the murder was that the assailants believed the victims were responsible for the death of their friend, Tsutsutsu Ntsundu, on December 2, 2014. Ntsundu was a security guard who was robbed and killed for his firearm.
The NPA welcomed the prosecution of the group.
The case has been postponed until April 14 for sentencing.
African News Agency (ANA)