Saturday, February 11, 2012

A black man who claimed to be a famous dead singer has been charged with fraud, South African police say

The man said that he was Khulekani "Mgqumeni" Khumalo - an award-winning Zulu folk musician who died in 2009. He claims he was kidnapped by a witchdoctor who cast a spell on him and held him in a cave with zombies. But police say the man's fingerprints establish that he is in fact Sibusiso John Gcabashe, 28. Khumalo's apparent return from the dead had sparked frenzied scenes as fans flocked to the singer's family home at the weekend, with riot police deploying truncheons and water cannon to control them. The impersonator has appeared at Nquthu magistrate court in KwaZulu-Natal where he was charged with fraud but not asked to enter a plea, said police spokesman Col Jay Naicker. Family of the dead singer appeared split over the man's identity, with two wives saying that he was genuine but the singer's former partner, Zehlise Xulu, insisting he was not. Belief in witchcraft is common among blacks in South Africa.

1 comment:

Noreen said...

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