Pitch Black Afro gets 10 years in jail, of which 5 years suspended
The rapper will spend less than three years in prison following his time spent in custody for one year and five months while awaiting trial.
Johannesburg. Pitch Black Afro accused of murdering his wife Catherine Modisane appeared in the Johannesburg Magistrate on Wednesday. File photo: Dimpho Maja/African News Agency (ANA)
Pitch Black Afro was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment on Friday, with half the sentence being suspended for five years, according to SundayWorld.
This comes after the High Court in Johannesburg had found the rapper guilty of culpable homicide by Judge Du Plessis on Thursday, after initially being charged with premeditated murder and defeating the needs of justice.
SowetanLive had reported that the judge said the rapper had been a poor witness during the state’s questioning and that the state had failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he had planned to murder his wife.
His sentence means that the rapper, real name Thulani Ngcobo, will spend less than three years in prison due to his time spent in custody for one year and five months while awaiting trial.
The judge ruled on Friday that the rapper did not accept his act of negligence despite him not killing his fiancee, Catherine Modisane, intentionally two years ago after an argument allegedly broke between them out at a bed and breakfast property in Johannesburg.
Modisane’s body was only found a day after the alleged incident.
After hearing arguments from both legal representatives, Du Plessis’ judgment had also considered that the rapper had contributed money towards the funeral of his deceased partner after he apologized to Modisane’s family.
Du Plessis also ruled there was no evidence that Ncgobo had an abusive relationship with Modisane.
“The accused still denies the specific details of what happened on that day despite him apologizing to the deceased’s family. So in this case that doesn’t help him because I don’t see remorse on his side,” the judge said.
The judge further said that the rapper justifying his actions on being intoxicated was just an excuse.
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