South African rapper Jub Jub guilty of killing four schoolchildren while drag racing through Soweto (VIDEO)

GlobalPost

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — Jub Jub, one of South Africa's best-known rappers, has been found guilty of killing four schoolchildren while drag racing through the streets of Soweto after taking drugs.

Jub Jub, whose real name is Molemo Maarohanye, and co-accused Themba Tshabalala were convicted Tuesday on four counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder.

The men crashed their Mini Coopers into a group of schoolchildren on March 8, 2010 while drag racing in the Protea Glen area of Soweto, southwest of Johannesburg.

Magistrate Brian Nemavhidi, who took four days to deliver his judgment, also found both men guilty of driving under the influence of drugs, and of racing on a public road.

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"The death of the deceased occurred as a result of the driving of those vehicles and as such the accused are convicted of driving their vehicles while under the influence of drugs," Nemavhidi told a crowded courtroom in Soweto, the South African Press Association reported.

Families of the victims broke down and cried as the magistrate delivered his verdict, SAPA said. One woman fainted and was carried out of the courtroom.

At Jub Jub's bail hearing in March 2010, police fired rubber bullets at crowds of schoolchildren who gathered outside the courthouse to protest, some of them throwing stones and threatening to kill the rapper.

[View the story "South African rapper Jub Jub guilty of murder" on Storify]

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