Policeman Sentenced To 15 Years For Rape

The KwaBhaca Regional Court sentenced Ntshatsheli Nogcantsi (36), to 15 years imprisonment for raping a 24-year-old woman.  The court also sentenced him to five years, for kidnapping but ordered the sentence to run concurrently with the 15-year term. The crimes were committed almost ten years ago, but the case was only finalized yesterday, owing to the former police constable’s employment of tricks to stall it.  He was sentenced amid heightened security in court, as information was intercepted that there was a plan by his friends to snatch him from the court.  

On 09 January 2013, Nogcantsi visited the victim at her home in the Matshona area in the district of Ntabankulu. He asked her, to accompany him under the pretext that they were to drop his friend off and fetch a jacket at his home.  On arrival at his home, Nogcantsi tried to convince the victim to get into his room, even producing his police appointment certificate to win her trust, but she refused. 

He then drove with her to a nearby forest, forced her to admit on the video to having sex with him, and raped her.  He then threatened to kill her and her family if she reported the rape.  The victim managed to escape, by jumping off Nogcantsi’s speeding vehicle and breaking her arm in the process.  She ran to a nearby homestead, where she reported her ordeal to a woman, who became one of the state’s key witnesses.

When the trial was due to resume, the original docket went missing.  Prosecutor Chumile Mkentane and investigating officer sergeant Khayalethu Ngomane reconstructed the docket and made five copies, two of which also subsequently disappeared.  The court record and charge sheet also went missing but the Prosecutor had kept a backup.  Nogcantsi’s R1000 bail had to be cancelled for him to start cooperating with the court, after one witness had had to flee to the Western Cape, following threats on her life.

The court dismissed as fabricated lies, Nogcantsi’s version that he was in a relationship with the victim, and that she sustained her injuries from jumping from her father’s bakkie after her parent had been angered by discovering their affair.

Eastern Cape Director of Public Prosecutions, Barry Madolo, praised the Prosecutor and investigating team for their resilience, tenacity and vigilance. “Were it not for pure zeal to ensure that justice is served, this conviction and sentence would not have been secured,”   

Issued by:

Luxolo Tyali

NPA Regional Spokesperson

Eastern Cape Division

Tel: 0475012630

Cell: 0735559292

Email: ltyali@npa.gov.z