MAN SENTENCED FOR RAPING A MINOR 27 YEARS AGO
A solid affirmation that rape cases do not prescribe, the Zwelitsha Regional Court sentenced Xolani Qanqane (58) to 11 years imprisonment for the rape he committed against a then 14-year-old girl in the year 1997. The now 41-year-old woman, now a social worker was visiting a shopping centre in Qonce (formerly King Williams Town), where Qanqane was working as an independent photographer. She was with her cousin, and they decided to approach the photographer and request that he take a photograph of them.
After the photoshoot, Qanqane lured the victim to a different location, stating that he was taking her to develop the photograph at another photographer’s stand.
During that time, the victim’s cousin had gone into another shop to purchase some items. Whilst at the other photographer’s stand, he convinced the victim to take a photograph with him and being a naive teenager she agreed to take the photo with him. A few days later, it came to the attention of the victim that the accused was claiming her to be his girlfriend and that he was sharing with people the photograph taken of the two of them to bolster his claim. The victim was very annoyed by this and was concerned that this would get to the ears of her parents. She decided to confront the accused at his place of work.
Qanqane offered to give the victim the photograph of the two of them. However, he said the photograph was at his house. As they got close to his vehicle the accused slapped the victim and bundled her into his vehicle. He then drove her to his flat in the nearby township of Dimbaza, where he violently raped her before threatening her with death if she told anyone about the incident. This terrified the victim and indeed she made no report about this incident for years.
When the victim enrolled at university she fell in love with someone, however, this relationship fell onto the rocks when her partner wanted intimacy. It was only after constant prodding that the victim revealed to her partner what happened to her. That was the first time the victim reported the incident. Years passed with the victim carrying this emotional baggage. She sought the assistance of a clinical psychologist to help her cope with the trauma. Around 2020, the victim was crossing a road in East London when a Minibus taxi passed her. She recognised the driver as the man who raped her years ago. The taxi had the cellphone numbers written on it and she took them down. After building up the courage, she phoned him with the sole purpose of seeking an apology. Instead of acknowledging his actions, Qanqane mistook her for someone else and told her that he was already punished for what he did to her. It was at that moment that the victim realized that she was not the only victim of the accused.
She opened a case in 2021. The only evidence in the docket was her statement. The Senior Public Prosecutor, Brenan Sam, had to find evidence to corroborate the victim’s version after more than 24 years. He embarked on a painstaking process and built a case against the accused from scratch. Including having to. Regional court prosecutor, Mzwandile Selanto, led the evidence of the victim and her first report, the ex-boyfriend, and confronted the accused with a robust cross-examination. With the assistance of the court preparation officer Phelisa Matinise, the highly emotional victim was able to give accurate evidence.
Each of these successful prosecutions is the culmination of months and even years of painstaking investigative and prosecutorial work and exemplifies hundreds of similar cases prosecuted successfully daily.
