SA man convicted of child rape 27 years ago

The long arm of the law finally caught up with Xolani Qanqane when he was sentenced to eleven years in prison for a crime he committed in 1997.

The Zwelitsha Regional Court in the Eastern Cape Province convicted Qanqane, now 58, of raping a then 14-year-old girl after she visited his photography shop in a shopping centre in Qonce (formerly King Williams Town) in the Eastern Cape Province.

Luxolo Tyali, regional spokesman for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), said the victim, now 41, is currently working as a social worker.

The value of a picture

“She was out with her cousin and they decided to approach the photographer and ask him to take their photo,” Tyali said of the incident.

“After the photo shoot, Qanqane lured the victim to another location and claimed he would take her to another photographer’s booth to develop the photo. The cousin had gone to another shop,” Tyali said.

“When he was at the other photographer’s booth, he persuaded the victim to take a photo with him,” Tyali said.

After a few days, the girl found out that Qanqane was telling people that she was his girlfriend and showing them a photo of them.

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She was upset and afraid that her parents would find out. She decided to confront the photographer at his workplace. There, he agreed to give her the photo but said it was at his house.

On the way to the car, she was attacked by Qanqane and dragged into his vehicle.

“He then drove her to his home in nearby Dimbaza township, where he brutally raped her and threatened to kill her if she told anyone about the incident,” Tyali said.

Out of fear, the girl kept quiet about the incident for years.

the truth comes out

While she was studying, she fell in love with someone. However, the relationship ran into difficulties when her partner wanted intimacy.

“It was only after constant pressure that the victim told her partner what happened to her,” said Tyali. That was the first time she told anyone about the rape.

The victim carried this emotional burden with him for years and sought help from a clinical psychologist to better cope with the trauma.

Around 2020, the victim was crossing a street in East London when a minibus taxi passed her. She recognised the driver as the man who had raped her years before.

There were cell phone numbers written on the taxi, which she wrote down. After gathering her courage, she called him, only to demand an apology.

Instead of admitting his actions, Qanqane mistook her for someone else and told her that he had already been punished for what he had done to her. At that moment, the victim realized that she was not the only victim of the accused.

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process

The woman opened proceedings in 2021; the only evidence in the file was her statement.

After more than 24 years, Chief Prosecutor Brenan Sam had to find evidence to confirm the victim’s version of events.

He began a careful process and built an indictment against the defendant from scratch.

Regional Public Prosecutor Mzwandile Selanto subjected the accused to extensive cross-examination.

“With the assistance of court preparer Phelisa Matinise, the very emotional victim was able to give accurate statements,” Tyali said.

“Prosecutions like this are the culmination of months and even years of meticulous investigative and prosecution work and are exemplary of hundreds of similar cases that are successfully prosecuted every day,” Tyali added.

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