South African musician Pitch Black Afro, whose real name is Thulani Ngcobo, has been released from prison after being granted a special remission of sentence.
Pitch Black Afro is a free man, three years after killing his wife
Ngcobo was serving a 10-year prison sentence for culpable homicide, with five years suspended, in June 2020 for the death of his wife, Catherine Modisane.
Pitch Black Afro, much like former president Jacob Zuma, was a beneficiary of a special remission of sentence, a procedure that provides the opportunity for ‘non-violent’ offenders to receive executive pardons authorised by Cyril Ramaphosa.
Due to the latter, Ngcobo’s sentence expired on Friday, 18 August 2023, according to Singabakho Nxumalo, spokesperson for the Correctional Services Department.
The special remission of sentence covered the offence of culpable homicide, under which Ngcobo had been convicted.
Ngcobo was convicted of culpable homicide after Modisane was killed at a bed and breakfast in Yeoville, Johannesburg.
Modisane died from blunt force trauma and in the eyes of Judge J du Plessis, who delivered the guilty verdict at the time, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) had presented enough evidence to prove that the once-successful rapper was the one who committed the crime.
However, it was the court’s opinion that Pitch Black Afro had not premeditated his wife’s death. Therefore, of the three charges he faced, the rapper was only found guilty of culpable homicide and not guilty of premeditated murder and defeating the ends of justice.
The rapper did not take the news of the guilty verdict particularly well. He maintained that his confession to the murder was coerced by detectives and swore to fight for justice to the bitter end.
“I won’t take this lying down. Bayang’sukela.. They’ve wasted one-and-a-half-year of my life,” he exclaimed.
The remission process involves a 10-week release procedure, which includes mandatory pre-release assessments and programs.
Offenders who meet the criteria for immediate and unconditional release are typically released in controllable groups.