Sixteen-year-old Matlhomola Moshoeu's father, Saki Dingake, says he is "heartbroken" and "unhappy" about the sentences imposed on his son's killers.

"I am heartbroken. I still can't accept that he is no longer with us (and) I am not satisfied with the sentences," an emotional Dingake told reporters shortly after the North West High Court adjourned on Wednesday.

Dingake said he was expecting the accused to be sentenced to life in prison.

#Coligny Matlhomola Moshoeu's father says he is not happy with the sentence. He expected the men to be sentenced to life in prison @TeamNews24 pic.twitter.com/Mxn4BnkxTt

— Jeanette Chabalala (@J_chabalala) March 6, 2019

Earlier on Wednesday, Pieter Doorewaard and Phillip Schutte were sentenced to 18 and 23 years in prison respectively.

In imposing the sentences, Judge Ronnie Hendricks said the murder was not planned or premeditated.

He added that there was no direct intention to kill the deceased.

However, he said the accused must have foreseen that the possibility of throwing the deceased head-first (from a moving vehicle) could result in death.

Hendricks also considered the fact that the men were first-time offenders.

Appeal sentence

Meanwhile, the accused's lawyer, Frik van Tonder, told News24 that the men would appeal their convictions and sentences.

According to the law, the appeal should be lodged within 14 days of the sentencing, Van Tonder said.

Lobby group AfriForum previously indicated that it had decided to help pay the men's legal costs.

The lobby group says advocate Barry Roux will come on board to assist AfriForum's Gerrie Nel when the men appeal the sentencing.

Roux will lead the defence, while Nel will provide input. The two legal minds went head-to-head in the Oscar Pistorius murder trial.

Doorewaard and Schutte were found guilty in November last year of murder, kidnapping, intimidation, theft and pointing a firearm.

Moshoeu died on April 20, 2017, after he was thrown from a moving vehicle.

The men, however, claimed that he jumped from the vehicle while they were on their way to the police station with him, after they caught him stealing sunflower heads at a farm.

Moshoeu's death sparked protests in the area and several houses and businesses were burnt to the ground. Some residents claimed he was killed because he was black.

#Coligny community leader Stanny Mnyakama says Bonakele Pakisi (eyewitness in the murder case) did not lie in court @TeamNews24 pic.twitter.com/7Um0hILZHZ

— Jeanette Chabalala (@J_chabalala) March 6, 2019