Court sentences man from Qonce to 11 years in prison for raping a minor 27 years ago

• A Qonce man has been sentenced to 11 years in prison after being found guilty of rape by the Zwelitsha Regional Court
• Xolani Qanqane, 58, was convicted of raping a 14-year-old girl in 1997 in the Dimbaza township near Qonce.
• The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said his successful conviction was the result of a long and arduous process

QONCE – The Zwelitsha Regional Court has convicted a man of raping a woman, now 41, when she was a minor in the Eastern Cape in 1997.

Xolani Qanqane, 58, was sentenced to 11 years in prison on Wednesday, July 17, for raping a 14-year-old girl 27 years ago.

Man gets eleven years in prison for rape

The court heard how Qanqane worked as an independent photographer in and around Qonce.

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During a visit to a shopping center in Qonce, the woman, now a social worker, and her cousin approached him and asked him to take their photo.

Qanqane then lured the victim away under the pretext of developing the photo at another photographer’s booth while the victim’s cousin went shopping.

He persuaded the victim to take a photo with him, taking advantage of her naivety. Days later, the victim found out that the defendant had paraded the photo he had taken and claimed that she was his girlfriend.

Worried about how her parents would react if they found out, she went to the mall to tell Qanqane what she thought.

After offering to give her the photograph, which he said was in his house, he punched her in the face as they approached his car and dragged her inside.

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Consequences of sexual assault

Qanqane drove to his home in Dimbaza township, brutally raped the victim and then threatened to kill her if she told on him.

Years later, she was forced to give in to his demands, she enrolled in university, met someone and fell in love with him.

However, things got difficult when her partner wanted a relationship and, due to his persistence, finally told him about the abuse.

Several years passed, and in 2020, while crossing a street in east London, she noticed a taxi and recognized the driver.

She was convinced that the photographer had raped her and took a cell phone number that was written on the side of the suitcase.

Later she courageously called and demanded an apology.

Careful prosecution process

The court heard that Qanqane had mistaken her for another woman and released her on the grounds that he had already served his sentence. The victim realised that she had not been his only victim and opened proceedings in 2021.

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Luxolo Tyali, spokesperson for the Eastern Cape National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), said her statement was the only evidence in the file.

“Senior Public Prosecutor (SPP) Brenan Sam worked to gather evidence to confirm the victim’s version of events more than 24 years later.

“He began to build a case from scratch with great care. Prosecutor Mzwandile Selanto took evidence and cross-examined Qeqelane.

“The highly emotional victim (subsequently gave credible testimony), which led to the conviction,” Tyali said.

He said the successful prosecution in the Qeqelane case was an example of hundreds of similar cases that are successfully tried every day.

Source: Newsflash