SA man sentenced for raping a child 27 years ago

The long arm of the law finally caught up with Xolani Qanqane when he was sentenced to 11 years imprisonment for a crime he committed in 1997.

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

National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regional spokesperson Luxolo Tyali said the victim, now 41 years old, is currently a social worker.

The value of one picture

“She was with her cousin, and they decided to approach the photographer and request that he take a photograph of them,” Tyali said of the incident.

“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. The cousin had gone into another shop,” Tyali said.

“Whilst at the other photographer’s stand, he convinced the victim to take a photograph with him,” said Tyali.

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

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Annoyed by this and concerned her parents would hear of it, she decided to confront the photographer at his workplace. There, he agreed to give her the photo but said it was at his home.

On the way to the car, Qanqane assaulted her 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,” Tyali said.

Terrified, the girl opted not to report the incident for years.

Truth comes out

When she went to university, she fell in love with someone. However, the relationship had problems when her partner wanted to be intimate.

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

Years passed with the victim carrying this emotional baggage and she sought assistance from 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 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 realised that she was not the only victim of the accused.

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Court case

The woman opened a case in 2021, the only evidence in the docket being 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.

Regional court prosecutor, Mzwandile Selanto, 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,” Tyali said.

“Prosecutions like this, are the culmination of months and even years of painstaking investigative and prosecutorial work and exemplify hundreds of similar cases prosecuted successfully daily,” Tyali added.

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