adminKWAITO star Brickz was yesterday branded a violent man when he appeared in the Roodepoort Magistrate’s Court for the second time after being charged with raping a 16-year-old girl in March. But, unlike at his first appearance, when the Sweety My Baby singer was almost reduced to tears, Brickz was jovial as he greeted his fans and saluted his friends in the packed courtroom.
The 32-year-old star, who has been in police custody since 1 November, seemed unfazed by the media frenzy and told court clerks to allow them to photograph him.
The singer, whose real name is Sipho Charles Ndlovu, told a police officer that the attention was because he was a celebrity.
The criminal case against him was opened in October, nearly six months after the alleged incident. He had allegedly threatened to kill his 16-year-old accuser if she spoke out.
Yesterday one of Brickz’s four-man legal team, Isaac Mokgobi, read a sworn statement stating that his client “intends to plead not guilty” and that he knows “the state’s case is weak against me”.
Prosecutor Willem le Roux read a statement in which police Warrant Officer Joel Ngobeni described Brickz as a “violent person” who would interfere with the case if granted bail, noting that he was found guilty in 2007 of drug possession.
Ngobeni said that the seriousness of the charge, and that he was a flight risk, militated against his being granted bail.
Mokgobi responded that there was no basis for the claim that his client was a flight risk. — Online
Online Reporter