Latest news with #EricNtabazalila
Eyewitness News
04-08-2025
- Eyewitness News
NPA confirms Nigerian rapper 3GAR Baby will face charges of reckless driving
CAPE TOWN – The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has confirmed that a Nigerian rapper who crashed his luxury supercar at speed in Sea Point in March, has been charged. Nigerian rapper 3GAR Baby was reportedly driving over 200km/h when he lost control of his car and slammed into a pavement and a wall. Pictures of the musician sitting in the middle of the street with a bloodied face circulated on social media shortly after the crash. The rapper miraculously survived the horrific accident caught on CCTV camera on a Saturday morning of March 1st, in Cape Town's upmarket suburb of Sea Point. It's understood that a passenger was also injured in the accident. And there are images of the crash and the remains of a crushed McLaren 570S worth millions of rand. NPA spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila has confirmed with Eyewitness News that the musician will be summoned to appear in court soon to face charges of reckless or negligent driving.
IOL News
23-06-2025
- IOL News
Plettenberg Bay court hands down 20-year sentence for brutal attack on elderly couple
The aftermath of the violent robbery that shocked the Plettenberg Bay community, leading to a 20-year prison sentence for the perpetrator. Image: Supplied The Plettenberg Bay Regional Court has sentenced a man to 20 years direct imprisonment following his conviction for an attack on an elderly couple who were robbed. National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson, Eric Ntabazalila, said a panga-wielding Cole Bruiners robbed the couple in January 2024, as they walked along Challenge Drive. He wanted to rob the woman of her bag, but she resisted. Ntabazalila said a struggle ensued, and Bruiners assaulted her with the panga, leaving her with bruises and cuts on her upper body. He also stabbed her husband on the head as he tried to stop the robbery, leaving the husband with a laceration to the left side of his skull. "The accused took the couple's hats before he fled," Ntabazalila said. "The incident was caught on CCTV cameras, and the footage was widely circulated. He was recognised by a member of the community forum, and a search ensued for his arrest. "He was arrested the following day, and the police found him with the panga. He cooperated with members of the community forum and the police and pointed out where he sold the stolen items. "The couple's items were later recovered." Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ The court sentenced Bruiners to 15 years direct imprisonment for each count of robbery with aggravating circumstances and ordered the second count of robbery with aggravating circumstances to run concurrently with the first count of the same crime. He was effectively sentenced to 20 years direct imprisonment. "The NPA welcomes the conviction and sentencing of a man who targeted and terrorised an elderly couple in Plettenberg Bay. This sentence sends a strong message that crimes against vulnerable members of society will not be tolerated and will be met with the full force of the law. The NPA remains committed to ensuring justice and the protection of all communities, especially the elderly," Ntabazalila said. Get your news on the go, click here to join the Cape Argus News WhatsApp channel. Cape Argus
The South African
09-06-2025
- The South African
Father sentenced to 35 years for exploiting his children
A Cape Winelands father created child pornography using his minor daughters and infant son for financial gain. The court sentenced him to 35 years in prison. The court found the 27-year-old man guilty of multiple charges. These include trafficking in persons, rape, creating and benefiting from child pornography, possessing and distributing pornographic material, and child abuse. The state withheld the man's name to protect the identity of his daughters aged six and four and son aged one. The man married the mother of his children in March 2018. He stayed home and cared for them because he was unemployed. The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said 'He subscribed to a social media application with instant messaging where one can transmit and receive messages, photos, and videos. Users can communicate privately with other users or in groups. The social media platform users can send photographs taken within the application. Which indicates to other users a picture was taken in real time and not imported from a camera roll.' 'He decided to create child pornography for financial gain. As the conversion rate at the time was R18 to the dollar. He connected with the group after the administrative user approved his access to the group, and he started to communicate with the administrative user.' Ntabazalila said he made pornographic content of his biological children and admitted to selling an 'unknown amount of child pornography to unknown users for $5 (R88.9) to $10 (R177.8).' An undercover FBI task force officer from the Washington field office was part of the FBI child exploitation and human trafficking task force. The officer shared information about the man's activities with South African police. Police then arrested him on 30 May 2023 and confiscated his cellphone. Senior state advocate Evadne Kortje finalised the plea and sentencing agreement. She said the accused sexually exploited children whose innocence should have been protected and preserved at all costs. 'He communicated and joined the social media application to connect with individuals interested in child pornography. He downloaded child pornography from other unknown collectors and other hands-on child sexual abuse offenders. Then he abused his parental privilege and the trust relationship he had towards his three small children. Regional court magistrate Gangadu emphasised the inescapable reality of the increasing prevalence of the abuse of modern technology to exploit our children,' said Ntabazalila. The Paarl Regional Court sentenced the man to 35 years of direct imprisonment and ordered him to serve two-thirds of the sentence before he becomes eligible for parole. The court will enter his name into the national register for sexual offenders. The court declared him unfit to work with children or to possess a firearm. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
Daily Maverick
09-06-2025
- Daily Maverick
Western Cape father jailed for raping his children, selling pornographic images of them
The man – who faced 629 counts of possession of child porn – said in his plea explanation that he 'decided to create child pornography for financial gain, as the conversion rate at the time was $18 to the rand'. A 27-year-old Cape Town father who shared child pornographic images and videos of his biological minor children and sold an unknown number of them to unknown users for between $5 and $10, has been handed 35 years' direct imprisonment for digital trafficking in persons and the rape of his minor children. His name will also be entered into the National Register for Sexual Offenders and the National Child Protection Register. The father was convicted of two counts of trafficking in persons for online exploitation, four counts of rape of two minor children, three counts of using children for or benefiting from child pornography, 629 counts of possession of child pornography, three counts of unlawful and intentional distribution of child pornography and three counts of child abuse. He was sentenced to a total of 195 years but the court ordered most of the sentences to run concurrently. On Monday, 9 June, National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) Western Cape spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said the court ordered the father to serve two-thirds of his sentence before he can be eligible for parole. The State did not name the accused because his children are minors – two girls aged six and four years and a one-year-old son. The sentence handed to the disgraced father in the Paarl Regional Court comes just days after National Child Protection Week, during which Daily Maverick ran a series of articles that painted a grim picture of the crimes committed against helpless children. While the number of reported sexual offences committed against children in South Africa dropped by 1,542 between 2021/22 and 2023/24, from 23,379 to 21,837, Luke Lamprecht, head of advocacy at the Gauteng nonprofit Women and Men Against Child Abuse, noted that in cases such as sexual violence against children, the number of incidents reported to police was a fraction of those shown to be occurring through research. For 'financial gain' According to Ntabazalila, the State and the accused reached a plea and sentencing agreement to protect the children from secondary victimisation. In his plea explanation, the father indicated that he married the mother of his children on 4 March 2018, and at one stage he was unemployed and stayed home to take care of the minor children. 'I subscribed to a social media application with instant messaging, where one can transmit and receive messages, photos and videos. Users can communicate privately with other users or in groups,' he stated. 'The social media platform users can send photographs taken within the application, which indicates to other users that a picture was taken in real time and not imported from a camera roll.' He went on to explain: 'I decided to create child pornography for financial gain, as the conversion rate at the time was $18 to the rand. I connected with the group after the administrative user approved my access to the group, and I started to communicate with the administrative user. 'I admitted that I started making child pornographic content of my biological children that I intended to share with random people online in exchange for a monetary reward.' The father claims to have made an unknown number of child pornography images and videos depicting his three children. 'I confessed that in the chats with the administrative user, I shared child pornographic images and videos of his biological minor children and sold an unknown amount of child pornography to unknown users for $5 to $10,' the court heard. The father was arrested after an undercover Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) officer assigned to the Washington Field Office as part of the FBI Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force posed as the administrative user of the group and forwarded information about his activities to the South African Police Service for further investigation on 22 December 2022. The accused was arrested on 30 May 2023 and police seized his cellphone, which he used to commit the crimes. State advocate Evadne Kortje, who finalised the plea and sentencing agreement, said the accused contributed to the sexualisation of children, whose innocence should have been protected and preserved at all costs. 'He communicated and joined the social media application to connect with individuals interested in child pornography. He downloaded child pornography from other unknown collectors and other hands-on child sexual abuse offenders. He abused his parental privilege and the trust relationship that he had towards his three small children,' Kortje said. Advocate Nicolette Bell, the Western Cape director of public prosecutions, commended the sentence and emphasised the need to make every day a child protection day to protect the most vulnerable members of society. The fight against the scourge of sexual violence, particularly against minors, and internet trafficking in children, must be condemned in the strongest possible terms, she said, adding that the NPA has dedicated prosecutors who deal with these crimes. She commended the collaborative working relationship between international law enforcement agencies and the SAPS, the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences unit and the Serial and Electronic Crime Investigation Unit. DM
The Herald
09-06-2025
- The Herald
Father jailed for using biological children in pornography to make money
An unemployed father who used his minor daughters and infant son to create child pornography for financial gain in the Cape winelands has been sentenced to 35 years in prison. The 27-year-old was convicted on two counts of trafficking in persons for online exploitation, four counts of rape of two minor children, three counts of using children for or benefiting from child pornography, 629 counts of possession of child pornography, three counts of unlawful and intentional distribution of child pornography and three counts of child abuse. The state withheld the man's name to protect the identity of his daughters aged six and four and son aged one. The man married the mother of his children in March 2018 and stayed home to care for them as he was unemployed at the time. 'He subscribed to a social media application with instant messaging where one can transmit and receive messages, photos, and videos. Users can communicate privately with other users or in groups. The social media platform users can send photographs taken within the application, which indicates to other users a picture was taken in real time and not imported from a camera roll,' said National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila. 'He decided to create child pornography for financial gain, as the conversion rate at the time was R18 to the dollar. He connected with the group after the administrative user approved his access to the group, and he started to communicate with the administrative user.' Ntabazalila said he made pornographic content of his biological children and admitted to selling an 'unknown amount of child pornography to unknown users for $5 to $10'. He was arrested after an online undercover FBI task force officer assigned to the Washington field office as part of the FBI child exploitation and human trafficking task force shared information about his activities with police in SA. He was arrested on May 30 2023 and his cellphone was confiscated. Senior state advocate Evadne Kortje, who finalised the plea and sentencing agreement, said the accused contributed to the sexualisation of children whose innocence should have been protected and preserved at all costs. 'He communicated and joined the social media application to connect with individuals interested in child pornography. He downloaded child pornography from other unknown collectors and other hands-on child sexual abuse offenders. He abused his parental privilege and the trust relationship he had towards his three small children. Regional court magistrate Gangadu emphasised the inescapable reality of the increasing prevalence of the abuse of modern technology to exploit our children,' said Ntabazalila. The Paarl regional court sentenced the man to an effective 35-year direct imprisonment and ordered him to serve two-thirds of the sentence before he can be eligible to be considered for parole. His name will be entered into the national register for sexual offenders. He was declared unfit to work with children or possess a firearm. TimesLIVE
