The High Court in Graskop, Mpumalanga has sentenced four men to life imprisonment for murder and kidnapping of Skhumbuzo Sikhumbane in July last year.

The four, Evidence Nkuna, Kriel Khoza, Christ Zwane, and Prayer Mdluli from Mkhuhlu in Bushbuckridge, kidnapped, assaulted and threw the deceased in the crocodile-infested Sabie River.

Sikhumbane was accused of stealing a laptop.

The provincial National Prosecuting Authority Spokesperson, Monica Nyuswa says the sentences serve as a warning to the public.

“The NPA does not condone acts of vigilantism and further warns the public not to take the law into their own hands, instead they should allow the law to take its course.”