Pretoria - The three men convicted of killing Ekurhuleni councillor Godfrey Mbethe were sentenced to life imprisonment by the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on Tuesday.
The court on Monday found Vusimuzi Landford Twala, 36, Simphiwe Dennis Zwane, 50, and Christopher Mbatha, 37, guilty on five counts of murder, robbery with aggravating circumstance, kidnapping, theft and fraud.
Judge Peter Mabuse sentenced the three to life imprisonment on the count of murder, although Mbethe's body is yet to be found. The men were sentenced to an additional 40 years imprisonment for robbery and committing fraud with Mbethe's bank card.
Mbethe, 43, went missing after withdrawing R7 000 from his account at a bank in Benoni on the morning of 22 July 2009.
An emotional speaker of Ekurhuleni City Council, Patricia Kumalo, said there was now a sense of relief.
"Phase one of the case has been successfully concluded, now the next phase would be to locate Mbethe's body to allow the family to properly put the ordeal behind them. We can only imagine how difficult it must be for the Mbethe family.
"We want to applaud the investigating officer and his colleagues for their commitment, passion and professionalism, also the community that rallied behind the family and the media that ensured that Mbethe's story is not forgotten."
The three men were granted leave to appeal the conviction and sentencing.
