Life sentence for child rapist upheld by High Court after exploiting victim with R20

A convicted child rapist, Songezo Wulana, will remain behind bars as the Western Cape High Court has upheld his life sentence, dismissing his appeal against both conviction and sentencing.

Wulana, who was 43 years old during trial proceedings, was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Parow Regional Court for the rape of an 11-year-old neighbour child whom he had given R20 to in exchange for her silence.

The child witness told the court that she took the money from her rapist as she was desperate for it, as she wanted to buy chips for herself.

“During cross-examination, she maintained that (Wulana) raped her. She also stated that she took the R20 that he gave her as she was desperate for it. She wanted to buy chips for herself. There was a time when her mother was not working, and she could not afford to buy chips. When she was asked why she went again to his house despite the previous ordeal, she testified that she wanted the R20. The witness also rejected the proposition that she asked the appellant to have sex with her,” the judgment read.

High Court Judge James Lekhuleni, in his judgment, said Wulana raped an innocent child who looked to him for protection. 

“It must be stressed that the complainant was an 11-year-old child at the time of the incident. She was vulnerable and defenceless. She was lured and enticed by the R20 she received from (Wulana), and she returned to him in the subsequent days, ” said Judge Lekhuleni.

During trial, it was Wulana’s version that he and the complainant - who had known each other since 2018 as they were neighbours in Delft - were in a relationship and submitted they had consensual sex.

The regional court heard from Wulana’s version that on a specific weekend at 12pm, the complainant came to borrow the toilet key from him and propositioned him for sex.

He denied that he raped her. 

“She was wearing a pink gown. The complainant removed her gown and entered his bedroom. The complainant got onto his bed and put her hand in front of his pants under his underwear. He then got up and told the complainant that he cannot have sex with children and that he has a girlfriend who can come at any time to him. The complainant asked him for R20, and he told her he did not have it. Later, the complainant left, and he got off the bed,” the judgment detailed.

Wulana suggested during cross-examination that the charge against him was lodged to get him arrested so that the complainant's mother could take his house.

In Wulana's grounds of appeal, he submitted that the trial court erred in finding that the State had proved his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. 

According to him, the court a quo erred in finding that the complainant’s evidence was credible and reliable in all material respects.

The court dispelled Wulana’s version of events as improbable and held that the regional court did not err in conviction and sentencing.

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