Brickz sentenced to 15 years in jail for rape
The state had asked for a minimum of 10 years, saying there were no substantial circumstances to make the court deviate from handing down the sentence.
Kwaito star Sipho ‘Brickz’ Ndlovu was slapped with a 15-year sentence in the Roodepoort Magistrates’ Court in Johannesburg on Tuesday.
The Sweetie My Baby hitmaker was found guilty of raping his then 16-year-old relative at his home in Ruimsig in 2013.
Late last month, the state asked the Roodepoort Magistrates’ Court to sentence Brickz to a minimum of 10 years in prison for raping his niece, who was 16 at the time of the attack.
During the conclusion of the presentencing proceedings, state prosecutor Pratisha Salie said there were no substantial circumstances to make the court deviate from handing down the minimum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment.
The Sweetie My Baby hitmaker was found guilty in July of raping his niece at his home in Ruimsig in 2013.
“She tried to look up to him as her father, and he should’ve seen this,” Salie said.
She added Brickz was seen as a celebrity and would most likely be able to continue with his life after serving his sentence, and be a role model and send the right message to South Africans who looked up to him.
Salie said rape was a serious matter and the court had to take into account that the victim was young and was not coping well after the incident.
“She had locked herself in a cupboard, and at some point, she was found with many pills in her possession, and was suicidal,” the prosecutor said.
“The victim couldn’t come to terms with the ordeal, she indicated that she was robbed of what she considered her ‘prize possession’, something that could never be replaced.”
The teenager had lost her mother and her father when she was taken in by her uncle, Brickz. He then violated her.
“She questions and blames herself as to why he chose her when she saw him as her father.”
Salie said she disagreed with the defence’s report that depicted Brickz as a humble person others looked up to and an asset to society and South Africa. The prosecutor reminded the court that a doctor testified that the accused did not use a condom, and as a result the rape survivor had contracted a sexually transmitted disease.
“The doctor testified that she had an STI and that there was no condom used.”
Making the case for imprisonment, Salie said the court had to consider circumstantial evidence that was provided and that Brickz did not show remorse.
The musician – whose bail was revoked after he was found guilty of rape – has told a social worker he could not show remorse for something he did not do.
Earlier, defence attorney Piet Du Plessis asked the court not be swayed by demands for a lengthy sentence, but to rather be circumspect. Imploring the court to be lenient, he said his client was a first offender who could be rehabilitated. as well as to not hand down a sentence merely to satisfy the outcry of society that may not be rational.
Additional reporting by ANA.
