The killing happened last April at the height of a wave of xenophobic violence but police say the motive was robbery.
The cause got massive attention after being captured on camera by photojournalist James Oatway.
His death led Graca Machel, widow of Nelson Mandela, to call for unity in the country.
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"I am South African. I am Mozambican. I am Zambian. I am Zimbabwean," she said at a memorial service for Mr Sithole.
Mthinta Bhengu and Sifundo Mzimela were found guilty of killing Mr Sithole on the streets of Alexandra, Johannesburg in broad daylight.
"One man got Emmanuel down on the ground and started beating him with a monkey wrench," Mr Oatway said, speaking shortly after the attack.
Bhengu was seen as the instigator of the attack and got a 17-year sentence, while Mzimela, who got a 10-year term, was described as his accomplice.
The BBC's Nomsa Maseko in South Africa says police investigations revealed that the pair robbed Mr Sithole of cigarettes and attacked him when he demanded that they pay for them.
Two South African men found guilty of murdering Mozambican Manuel Josias Sithole have been sentenced to 10 and 17 years.