Themba Makwanyane and Mvuso Mchunu, who were sentenced...

Themba Makwanyane and Mvuso Mchunu, who were sentenced to death in 1992, had their penalties commuted to life imprisonment in the Appeal Court in Bloemfontein. The two men were sentenced to death by the Johannesburg High Court after they were found guilty of killing two policemen and two guards during a cash-in-transit heist in August 1990. The Appeal Court upheld their convictions in May 1994, but referred the question on the constitutionality of the death sentence to the Constitutional Court. Following the court's decision, Themba Makwanyane and Mvuso Mchunu appealed against their life-long prison terms. In court documents, counsel argued that life imprisonment was also unconstitutional as it infringed on their rights to life, human dignity and freedom of movement. For its part, the State argued that a life term was proportional to the seriousness of their crimes.