Okmalumkoolkat’s challenging year - and how he overcame it

Rapper Okmalumkoolkat has had a roller coaster of a year. But he’s come out of it much stronger.

Fans of the rapper‚ whose real name is Smiso Zwane‚ were shocked to learn in January that their idol had been charged with indecent assault and assault with indecent intent while on tour in Australia.

The star served one month of a six-month sentence in a Tasmanian jail before heading home to South Africa.

And while fans were curious to hear their idol’s side of the story‚ he chose to stay silent on the matter.

’I am sincerely sorry to everybody that has been affected by this’

Instead‚ he issued a statement in March thanking his true fans for their support and promising to reveal his version of what happened in due time.

“I am sincerely sorry to everybody that has been affected by this...This hasn’t just affected Okmalumkoolkat‚ but it has affected Simiso Zwane‚ my whole family‚ my friends and my team who have realised the fact that I am also human. I would like to thank everybody that stood by me and have been really supportive. I sincerely appreciate that‚” he wrote.

The rapper then disappeared from the limelight for several months‚ burying himself in recording a new album and declined all media interviews.

But even as he took a brief social media hiatus‚ critics were baying for his blood.

Besides the constant calls for him to speak on what happened in Australia‚ critics also caused a social media storm that later saw him removed from the line up of a Cape Town event he was set to perform at.

’I’m going to share my stories through music’

He later told e.tv’s Shiz Niz that the ordeal had left him not knowing what to say or do and that he had decided to channel his emotions through his music.

“(I decided) I’m going to share my stories through music. I’ll show my changed side through the music. I started with Ntwana Yam. If you listen to the lyrics it is not like the same Okmalumkoolkat from before. It just got me really into the Malume-zone instead of the Koolkat‚” he said.

In the weeks that followed‚ Okmalumkoolkat released a song with popular rapper K.O and uploaded several social media posts documenting his work with artists such as AKA‚ Riky Rick and Kwesta for his new album. He was once again being recognised for his music.

His side of the story

It was in this climate that the star finally revealed his side of the incident that had hung over him all year long.

Speaking to Anele Mdoda on Real Talk last month‚ Okmalumkoolkat finally opened up about what happened the night he got arrested in Australia.

“I was lost in the hotel‚ looking for my way to my room. And there is a sliding door open‚ so I’m thinking maybe that could be the way for me to get to the corridors to go to my room. But because I was drunk‚ instead of knocking‚ I just walked through. And then obviously — I would probably act the same way if somebody was in my room — it’s scary. She (the woman in the room) woke up‚ and then she ushered me out the room‚” he said.

He said that he told the woman‚ who eventually laid charges against him‚ that he was “drunk” and was only trying to make his way to his hotel room. However‚ that didn’t stop her from calling the police.

He said that the woman changed her statement and that he was charged without any opportunity to phone his friends or family back home.

He also said that he had pleaded guilty because he felt that he had “violated” the woman’s privacy‚ because he was in her room.