The Pietermaritzburg regional court has sentenced Scebi Nene, 36, to five years in jail for creating pornographic images of high-profile people including President Cyril Ramaphosa and former police minister Bheki Cele.
Natasha Ramkisson-Kara, KwaZulu-Natal National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson, said Nene pleaded guilty to a number of cyber crimes committed between September 2022 and May 2023.
Nene downloaded images of certain individuals, including former police commissioner Khehla Sithole and superimposed images of a sexual nature onto them.
“This created a false impression the images were the authentic images of the complainants. Nene then disseminated these manipulated images.”
In his plea Nene said he was employed by Coca-Cola between 2018 and 2019 and during this time he felt people were following him.
He reported this to police who told him to observe if it happened again and return to them.
Nene said he continued being followed and reported this at two other police stations, but claimed his claims were dismissed. He then approached the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) and the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks), but nobody took him seriously.
Ramkisson-Kara said he contacted Cele's office but still received no assistance.
“That was when he downloaded the images of the complainants and the images of a sexual nature and superimposed the two, making it seem that it was the complainants in those graphic images. He also admitted to distributing the images. Nene mentioned that he is remorseful and has undertaken not to commit a similar offence again in the future,” she said.
In the matter prosecuted by Adv Shika Siverpersad, Nene was sentenced to five years' imprisonment for cyber forgery. The cyber uttering and disclosing of the intimate images was taken as one for sentencing and he was sentenced to three years' imprisonment. Both sentences will run concurrently.
“The NPA views offences of this nature in a serious light. We advise members of the public to use technology with caution and due regard for the consequences,” said Ramkisson-Kara.
TimesLIVE
Five years in jail for man who created pornographic images of president and former police minister
Image: 123RF/Evgenyi Lastochkin
The Pietermaritzburg regional court has sentenced Scebi Nene, 36, to five years in jail for creating pornographic images of high-profile people including President Cyril Ramaphosa and former police minister Bheki Cele.
Natasha Ramkisson-Kara, KwaZulu-Natal National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson, said Nene pleaded guilty to a number of cyber crimes committed between September 2022 and May 2023.
Nene downloaded images of certain individuals, including former police commissioner Khehla Sithole and superimposed images of a sexual nature onto them.
“This created a false impression the images were the authentic images of the complainants. Nene then disseminated these manipulated images.”
In his plea Nene said he was employed by Coca-Cola between 2018 and 2019 and during this time he felt people were following him.
He reported this to police who told him to observe if it happened again and return to them.
Nene said he continued being followed and reported this at two other police stations, but claimed his claims were dismissed. He then approached the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) and the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks), but nobody took him seriously.
Ramkisson-Kara said he contacted Cele's office but still received no assistance.
“That was when he downloaded the images of the complainants and the images of a sexual nature and superimposed the two, making it seem that it was the complainants in those graphic images. He also admitted to distributing the images. Nene mentioned that he is remorseful and has undertaken not to commit a similar offence again in the future,” she said.
In the matter prosecuted by Adv Shika Siverpersad, Nene was sentenced to five years' imprisonment for cyber forgery. The cyber uttering and disclosing of the intimate images was taken as one for sentencing and he was sentenced to three years' imprisonment. Both sentences will run concurrently.
“The NPA views offences of this nature in a serious light. We advise members of the public to use technology with caution and due regard for the consequences,” said Ramkisson-Kara.
TimesLIVE
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EDITORIAL | Are we sure everyone sentenced is actually in prison?
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