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[2016] ZAECMHC 52
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Buqweni v S (CA&R70/2014) [2016] ZAECMHC 52 (29 November 2016)
IN
THE HIGH COURT OF SOUTH AFRICA
EASTERN
CAPE LOCAL DIVISION: MTHATHA
CASE
NO. CA&R 70/2014
SIYABULELA
BUQWENI
Appellant
and
THE
STATE
Respondent
APPEAL
JUDGMENT
BROOKS
J
[1]
The appellant was charged in the Regional Court for the Regional
Division of the Eastern Cape held at Sterkspruit with the crime
of
rape in contravention of the provisions of section 3 read with
sections 1
,
55
,
56
(1),
57
,
58
,
59
,
60
and
61
of the
Criminal Law
(Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act 32 of 2007
, read
with sections 256, 257 and 281 of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of
1977 (“the Act”) and sections 92 (2) and 94
of the CPA.
[2]
The appellant was legally represented in the court
a
quo
.
After be had been warned that in the event of a conviction on the
charge he would be sentenced in accordance with the provisions
of
sections 51(1), 52(2) and schedule 2 of the Act to life imprisonment
unless there were substantial and compelling circumstances
which
justified the imposition of a lesser sentence, the appellant pleaded
not guilty to the charge. In explanation of the
plea in
accordance with the provisions of section 115 of the CPA the
appellant stated that his sexual intercourse with the complainant
was
with her consent.
[3]
It is necessary to record that the appellant was one of two accused
who were charged with the same offence in the court
a
quo
.
The appellant’s co-accused also pleaded not guilty and tendered
the same plea explanation. As the appellant’s
co-accused
was a minor at the time of the occurrence of the sexual intercourse,
upon conviction he was sentenced to a term of fifteen
years’
imprisonment. The appellant’s co-accused has not appealed
against either the conviction or sentence.
[4]
The present appeal is directed against both the conviction of the
appellant and the sentence of life imprisonment imposed upon
him.
[5]
In essence, the appeal against conviction is based upon a submission
that the court
a quo
erred in finding that the state had
proved the guilt of the appellant beyond a reasonable doubt. In
particular, the submission
is made that the complainant and the
second state witness, Xatyiswa or Qabiswa Nigunwa, did not give
evidence in a satisfactory
manner and that there were contradictions
in their evidence.
[6]
It is clear from the judgment that the magistrate was alive to the
need to treat the evidence of the complainant with caution
as, in
respect of the rape itself, she was a single witness.
[7]
According to the complainant, she knew both the appellant and his
co-accused. The appellant was in a romantic relationship
with
one Anelisa and his co-accused was in a romantic relationship with
one Nashana. It is apparent that Anelisa was sometimes
to be
found at the complainant’s home. On the night in question
however, she was not there. The complainant was
alone when the
appellant and his co-accused called, together with another man,
Makhosini, who had died before evidence was led
in the court
a
quo
.
The complainant stated that the appellant did not believe her when
she told him that Anelisa was not there and he proceeded
to search
the room for her. Makhosini told him that what he was doing was
wrong and the appellant responded by assaulting
him. The
appellant’s co-accused joined in and the complainant tried to
intervene. The appellant then turned his
attention to the
complainant, assaulting her and tying her hands behind her back and
her feet. She was then gagged before
being carried away by the
appellant over his shoulder and to the homestead of his co-accused.
[8]
On the way, the appellant and his co-accused threatened the
complainant. On arrival, the appellant threw her on the bed.
Makhosini tried to alert the grandmother of the appellant’s
co-accused. An unhelpful exchange between the two of them
seems
to have occurred before Makhosini left. The appellant and his
co-accused then removed the gag from the complaint’s
mouth and
untied her feet. The complainant took the opportunity to
urinate. Thereafter the appellant assaulted her
on the back
with a stick and caused her to fall. He then put her back on
the bed. The complainant explained that she
did not raise the
alarm because she feared that she would be killed if she did so.
[9]
The appellant then proceeded to force himself upon the complainant
and raped her. During the process he throttled her.
She
began to cry but was commanded by the appellant’s co-accused
not to make a noise. This caused her to remain silent.
The appellant’s co-accused then also raped her. It seems
that both the appellant and his co-accused raped the complainant
more
than once again during the night. In the early morning they
left, locking the complainant in the room. A couple
of hours
later she managed to release her hands from behind her back and
climbed out of the window.
[10]
The complainant went straight back to her homestead. She sat
for some time on the stoep until she was discovered by Nigunwa,
to
whom she reported what had happened to her. Nigunwa in turn
made a report, which led to the complainant being taken to
Empilisweni Hospital for a medical examination.
[11]
Nigunwa gave evidence which repeated the content of the report made
to her by the complainant. In its content, the report
was
consistent with the complainant’s evidence. Nigunwa
stated that she could see that the complainant had sustained
injuries. Her wrists were also swollen. Blood stains were
evident on the nightdress which she was still wearing when
Nigunwa
found her. The witness confirmed that the appellant was in a
romantic relationship with Anelisa and that his co-accused
was in a
romantic relationship with Nashana. Neither the appellant nor
his co-accused was in a romantic relationship with
the complainant.
[12]
Under cross examination, several differences between the statement
made by the complainant to the police and her later evidence
in the
court
a
quo
were explored. In my view, none of the discrepancies exposed
were material and it is not necessary to have regard thereto.
[13]
After unsuccessful opposition on behalf of the appellant, the
magistrate accepted into evidence the statement of the deceased
Makhosini. The content thereof confirms in large measure the
evidence of the complainant relating to the events of the evening
up
until the time that Makhosini left the appellant and his co-accused
with the complainant shortly before she was raped.
[14]
The appellant’s evidence, and indeed the evidence of his
co-accused, confirmed that Makhosini was with them up to a point
in
the evening. According to him, he evicted Makhosini forcefully,
saying that Makhosini was going to bring trouble upon
them. In
the process Makhosini fell and injured his mouth. The appellant
said that he refused Makhosini’s invitation
then to fight with
him. The appellant then stated that it was the complainant’s
idea to move to the homestead of the
appellant’s co-accused.
He claimed that she walked there freely and in her nightdress. On
arrival she removed
her nightdress and got under the blankets on the
bed. The appellant joined her and fell asleep. No mention
is made
in his evidence in chief or his evidence under cross
–examination of sexual intercourse with the complainant.
An objection
to an attempt to correct this under re-examination was
objected to with success. The appellant claimed to have been in
a
romantic relationship with the complainant.
[15]
The appellant’s co-accused also claimed to have been in a
romantic relationship with the complainant at the same time.
He
claimed to have had consensual sexual intercourse with the
complainant whilst the appellant was asleep. He stated that
he
heard for the first time that the appellant had had sexual
intercourse with the complainant when the complainant gave her
evidence
in court.
[16]
Both the appellant and his co-accused confirmed that there was no bad
blood between them and the complainant. Neither
of them could
give any explanation for the complainant’s decision to lay
charges against them.
[17]
In my view, the failure on the part of the appellant to give evidence
in accordance with his plea explanation diminishes substantially
any
creditworthiness which his version may otherwise have had.
Moreover, his version offers no explanation for the injuries
seen on
the complainant by Nigunwa. It is completely different on
salient points from the evidence given by the complainant.
Whilst her evidence may contain some discrepancies on minor issues,
it is clear and consistent on those issues which establish
the
elements of the offence of rape. It is not displaced by an
application of the cautionary rule to those areas where the
complainant was a single witness and substantial corroboration for
her evidence of the events which occurred after the rape, and
her
condition after the rape, is provided by the evidence of Nigunwa.
Accordingly, the magistrate was correct in accepting
the evidence of
the complainant and Nigunwa and in rejecting the appellant’s
version.
[18]
It follows that the appeal against conviction cannot succeed.
[19]
No previous convictions were proved against the appellant.
[20]
After hearing argument both in mitigation and in aggravation of
sentence, the magistrate delivered his judgment on sentence.
He
imposed life imprisonment upon the appellant.
[21]
The correct approach to be adopted towards the appellant’s
appeal against the sentence of life imprisonment has been
enunciated
by the Supreme Court of Appeal
[1]
as
follows:
“
What
is then the correct approach by a court on appeal against a sentence
imposed in terms of the Act? Can the appellate court interfere
with
such a sentence imposed by the trial court exercising its discretion
properly simply because it is not the sentence which
it would have
imposed, or that it finds shocking? The approach to an appeal on
sentence imposed in terms of the Act should, in
my view, be different
to an approach to other sentences imposed under the ordinary
sentencing regime. This, in my view, is
so because the minimum
sentences to be imposed are ordained by the Act. They cannot be
departed from lightly or for flimsy
reasons. It follows,
therefore, that a proper enquiry on appeal is whether the facts which
were considered by the sentencing
court are substantial and
compelling, or not.
”
[22]
Ultimately, the question to be answered is whether “the court
below erred in failing to find that the circumstances of
this case
were so substantial and compelling as to justify a departure from
imprisonment for life.”
[2]
In considering what response would be appropriate to such enquiry in
the present matter, I have had regard to the following
useful
restatement
[3]
of the nature of
the enquiry:
“
Substantial
and compelling circumstances means truly convincing reasons.
There must not be marginal differences in personal
circumstances or
degrees of involvement. At the end of the day, the ultimate
cumulative impact of the circumstances must
be such as to justify a
departure.”
[23]
The appellant’s personal circumstances were disclosed in the
argument in mitigation of sentence. They can be listed
shortly
as follows:
·
the
appellant was twenty-six years of age at the time of the commission
of the offence;
·
he
has a five year old daughter who is in the custody of her mother;
·
the
child’s mother is unemployed;
·
the
appellant dropped out of school after grade 10 (standard 8) as he was
unable to cope with his studies;
·
he
suffers from epilepsy, for which he receives treatment;
·
the
appellant last worked in 2009, when he was employed on a mine in
Klerksdorp;
·
the
appellant is a first offender;
[24]
In argument before the magistrate, the appellant’s legal
representative stressed the personal circumstances to which
I have
referred. She submitted that although there was no evidence on
the point, the magistrate could safely assume that
the appellant was
“a person of sub-intellect”. In my view, in the
absence of specific evidence, that conclusion
cannot be drawn simply
from the fact that the appellant dropped out of school because he
found his studies difficult. The
appellant’s legal
representative also submitted that the appellant enjoyed good
prospects of rehabilitation. Once again,
in the absence of
specific evidence on the point, this conclusion does not emerge
readily from the evidence. Notably, the
appellant did not take
the court into his confidence, thereby demonstrating insight into the
effect of his crime upon the complainant
and demonstrating
contrition. No evidential basis having been laid for the
submission that the appellant enjoyed good prospects
of
rehabilitation, this cannot simply be inferred from the relative
youthfulness of the appellant.
[25]
In the charge sheet the complainant is referred to as a fifteen year
old girl. No evidence was led on the point.
In his
address, and in the magistrate’s judgment, reference is made to
the complainant as a sixteen year old.
[26]
The prosecutor argued that there were no substantial and compelling
circumstances present in the matter. It was his submission
that
the facts demonstrated aggravating circumstances which militated
against any prospect of a finding that substantial and compelling
circumstances could be identified in the matter. These included
the facts that the complainant was only sixteen years of
age and that
she was assaulted by the appellant. It is evident from her
evidence that she was bound and gagged before being
taken by force
from her home to the place where the rape occurred, and that her
hands remained tied behind her back throughout
the ordeal. She
stated that both the appellant and his co-accused raped her more than
once during the night. She was
then left in a locked room,
obliging her to escape through a window in the early morning.
In my view, the fact that the appellant
and his co-accused were known
to the complainant, who was a member of their local community, is a
further aggravating factor.
There was no demonstration of
remorse on the part of the appellant during his trial.
[27]
In my view, the complainant was subjected to an horrific and
demeaning experience which must have left deep emotional scarring
in
its wake. The vulnerability of the younger members of society
to abuse, usually by those who think they can get away with
it, is of
the utmost concern in the times in which we live, particularly in the
Eastern Cape.
[4]
It is
right that our courts set their faces against this scourge as
vehemently as possible. In my view, the magistrate
cannot be
faulted for his failure to find that substantial and compelling
circumstances exist in this matter and for the resultant
imposition
of the prescribed minimum sentence of life imprisonment upon the
appellant.
[28]
In the circumstances, the appeal against the sentence imposed upon
the appellant must fail.
[29]
The following order will issue:
“
1.
The appeal against both the conviction and sentence imposed upon the
appellant is dismissed.
2.
The conviction and sentence imposed by the magistrate upon the
appellant are
confirmed.”
RWN
BROOKS
JUDGE
OF THE HIGH COURT
ALKEMA
J:
I
agree.
S
ALKEMA
JUDGE
OF THE HIGH COURT
Appearances:
For
the appellant: Mr
Kuzane
Mthatha
Justice Centre
For
the respondent: Adv Triesch,
The
Director of Public Prosecutions
Mthatha
Date
heard:
25 November 2016
Date
delivered:
29 November 2016
[1]
S v P B
2013 (2) SACR 533
(SCA) par [20].
[2]
NOTE 1 (supra) par [22].
[3]
S v MAHLANGU AND OTHERS
2012 (2) SACR 373
(GSJ)
377 (g)–(h).
[4]
S v P N
2010 (2) SACR 187
(ECG).