SOUTH AFRICA: White Farmers Convicted In The Coffin Case

Theo Martins Jackson and Willem Oosthuizen pleaded not guilty

Two white South African farmers who forced a black man into a coffin have been convicted of attempted murder and kidnapping.

Victor Mlotshwa, 27, was beaten and made to get into the coffin by Theo Martins Jackson and Willem Oosthuizen in August 2016.

The pair will be sentenced on 23 October. They had denied the charges.

The case has caused outrage in South Africa and highlighted racial tensions in some farming communities.

Mr Mlotshwa only reported the matter after footage of the assault emerged on YouTube months later.

His attackers threatened to douse him in petrol and burn him alive.

In a court affidavit, Jackson and Oosthuizen said they did not mean to harm Mr Mlotshwa but merely wanted to "teach him a lesson".

They claimed that Mr Mlotshwa had been trespassing on their land.

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He denied this, saying he was taking a short cut to the shops, where he had been sent by his mother.

As Judge Segopotje Mphahlele read out the guilty verdict in Middelburg Magistrates Court on Friday, supporters of the victim burst into songs of celebration.

"I'm relieved that justice has been served," Mr Mlotshwa told the BBC.

Victor Mlotshwa was walking home when he was kidnapped and assaulted

Judge Mphahlele told the court she was satisfied that the prosecution had proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt, and that it was clear that the convicted men intended to kill the victim.

The prosecutor has asked the court to revoke their bail for security reasons.