Mgqumeni impersonator jailed for South Africa rape

Gcabashe received a hero's welcome from fans who believed was a deceased Zulu musician

A man who made headlines for impersonating a dead Zulu folk musician has been sentenced to 28 years in prison.

Sibusiso Gcabashe was found guilty of a string of charges, including kidnapping and raping an 18-year-old woman. Gcabashe was also convicted of impersonating Khulekani "Mgqumeni" Khumalo, who died in 2009.

Thousands of fans flocked to his house in KwaZulu-Natal in 2012 believing he had been resurrected. He was an award-winning "Maskandi" musician.


 Three years after his death, Gcabashe returned to the singer's hometown, claiming he had been kidnapped by a witchdoctor who had cast a spell on him and held him in a cave with zombies.

His fingerprints proved he was not the singer, police said at the time.