Xolani Qanqane Sentenced To 11-years In Prison Over 27-Year-Old Rape Case

The long arm of the law finally caught up with Xolani Qanqane, who was sentenced to 11 years imprisonment for a heinous crime he committed 27 years ago.

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 known as King Williams Town.

According to National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regional spokesperson Luxolo Tyali, the victim, now 41 and a social worker, was accompanied by her cousin when they approached Qanqane to take a photograph of them.

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Following the photo shoot, Xolani Qanqane lured the victim to a different location on the pretext of developing the photograph at another photographer’s stand. While her cousin went into another shop, Qanqane convinced the victim to take a picture with him.

A few days later, the girl discovered that Xolani Qanqane was telling people she was his girlfriend and showing them their photograph. Concerned that her parents might hear about it, she decided to confront him at his workplace.

There, he agreed to give her the photograph but claimed it was at his home. On the way to the car, Qanqane assaulted her and forcibly took her to his flat in the nearby township of Dimbaza.

There, he violently raped her and threatened to kill her if she told anyone about the incident. Out of terror, the girl chose not to report the incident for many years.

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.

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.

Justice was ultimately served, as Qanqane was recently sentenced to 11 years in prison.