KZN musician jailed for sexually abusing another musician

WHEN Simiso Zwane kickstarted his Australian tour in mid-January nobody could have foreseen that it would end in such shambles. Simiso, a rapper better known by his stage name Okmalumkoolkat, was arrested by Australian police for a sexual offence reportedly committed against a woman in a hotel room.
VICTIM ALSO AN ARTIST The 32-year- old Umlazi-born rapper played at a club called Mofo before allegedly heading to a hotel where he sexually assaulted a sleeping woman, the Australian Mercury reported.
The victim, who could not be named for legal reasons, was a fellow artist who was asleep in her hotel room only to wake up to a "total stranger" touching and kissing her, and telling her to make any noise, the report added. NO HISTORY OF VIOLENCE The self-proclaimed international pantsula had recently returned from a European tour which saw him perform in countries such as France, Switzerland and Austria, before heading for Australia. This time he was set to share the stage with the likes of Black Coffee, Cid Rim and The Clonious.
His public relations team, Stamp Communications, issued a statement expressing their shock at the incident, and saying it was uncharacteristic of Okmalumkoolkat, even though they had limited information regarding what really took place.
"At this stage, we have limited information regarding the judgment on Simiso Zwane in Australia, but with no previous legal charges or history of violence whatsoever and knowing Simiso as we and most of you all do, we can say that the news comes as a huge surprise and one which has truly rocked us all," read the statement.
PLEADED GUILTY
Okmalumkoolkat's team also expressed concern and compassion for the victim.
"Having said this, we are by no means disputing the woman's claims which are taken incredibly seriously, and we must abide by the court's ruling."
Okmalumkoolkat is said to have pleaded guilty to the charges against him. The publication reported that his legal representative had told the court that he was
"remorseful, ashamed and embarrassed" about the incident.
The magistrate sentenced him to six months in jail, serving one month and with five months suspended, after dismissing a plea from his lawyer that he gets a fine because he is a "man of honour".
When we contacted his public relations team for an update and spoke to Bongi Xaba, she said there had not been any communication with the Mswenko hitmaker ever since his arrest and promised to let us know of any new developments. Bongi could not tell us how his family is coping with the news.
His public relations team went on to say in their press release that, "Our thoughts are with all those who were affected and who will continue to be affected by this terrible situation."