Pretoria:  A South African court has sentenced eight former police officers to 15 years each for killing a Mozambican taxi driver by dragging him handcuffed behind a police truck and assaulting him in custody.

The tormenting of Mido Macia, caught on video and broadcast around the world, further tarnished the reputation of the police in South Africa where about 1000 people a year die in custody or as result of police action.

Former policemen, left to right, Meshack Malele, Thamsanqa Ngema, Percy Mnisi, Bongamusa Mdluli, Sipho Ngobeni, Lungisa Gwababa, Bongani Kolisi, and Linda Sololo. Photo: AP

Macia died from head injuries and internal bleeding caused by being assaulted and dragged behind the vehicle through Johannesburg streets followed by further attacks in a holding cell.

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Judge Bert Bam said the accused policemen, aged between 25 and 56, showed no remorse for their crime and did not deserve a more lenient verdict, such as a suspended sentence. "The continuous conduct of the accused concerning the injuries on the deceased was barbaric and totally inexplicable," he said in his ruling. "What made their conduct more reprehensible was their cowardly attack in the cell on a defenceless and already seriously injured man."

Benny Ndaba, a lawyer for the police officers, said they would appeal their murder convictions. The video of the incident, which rekindled images of apartheid era police brutality, was filmed by an onlooker and showed minibus taxi driver Macia scuffling with police after he illegally parked his vehicle. The victim was then tied to the back of a police van and dragged in full view of scores of witnesses in the east Johannesburg area of Daveyton.

Mido Macia, dragged behind a police truck in Johannesburg in 2013. Photo: Supplied

"This was a barbaric act committed by the police, who are there to protect the community, and not to kill the community," said a lawyer for Macia's family, Jose Nascimento. "I do understand, and feel very sorry for, policemen in South Africa, who put their lives at risk on a daily basis and are killed at an astronomically high rate. But one cannot accept rogue policemen. This was just madness."

Macia was supporting his parents, two nephews, a girlfriend, Biuda Mazive, and their young son, Sergio, who all live in Mozambique. The family has filed a lawsuit against the South African government, seeking 6.5 million rand (about $639,000). Government officials have said that they intend to settle the case, but that they are negotiating the level of compensation.

About 5 million migrants work in South Africa - most of them from nearby countries, like Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Malawi - but precise figures are hard to come by. 

There has been a series of incidents of South African police using inordinate force against civilians in recent years, the worst being the 2012 "Marikana massacre" where 34 striking mine workers were gunned down by police.

Reuters, New York Times