The policemen accused of killing Mozambican taxi driver Mido Macia.
Image by: Times
Judge Bert Bam handed down the judgment in Pretoria on Tuesday.
The 27-year-old Macia died in police custody in February 2013 after being dragged behind a police van in Daveyton‚ east of Johannesburg‚ while handcuffed.
He had been arrested for allegedly violating traffic laws.
He died without receiving medical attention three hours after being detained. A postmortem report revealed that he had been severely beaten and died from lack of oxygen.
The judge found that the state had proved without reasonable doubt that Macia died from injuries sustained when he was handcuffed at the back of the police van and dragged behind for about 200 meters‚ and from injuries sustained when he was assaulted by the accused in the cells.
The convicted police officers are Bongamusa Mdluli‚ Meshack Malele‚ Thamsanqa Ngema‚ Percy Mnisi‚ Sipho Ngobeni‚ Lungisa Gwababa‚ Bongani Kolisi and Linda Sololo.
Earlier this month‚ a ninth former police officer initially charged with the group‚ Matome Ramatlou‚ was acquitted by the court.
Macia's sister Mellita Macia said details of her brother's death brought tears to her eyes‚ saying they welcomed the judgment but would never forgive the policemen.
Sentencing proceedings will start on September 22.
The defence wanted their bail extended in the interim as they had never missed a single day in court, but the judge refused this request.
The footage of Macia being dragged behind a police vehicle went viral in 2013 after his arrest for obstructing traffic with his taxi was recorded on a cellphone.
The eight officers were sacked by the SAPS in July 2014.
Macia’s family have filed a R6.5-million lawsuit against the minister of police.
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