Man found guilty of kidnapping, raping two little girls

The absolute trauma convicted child rapist Mlungiseleli Patrick Tyane put his victims and their families through was horrendous, and Tyane’s testimony was absurd.

That was the sentiment of Port Elizabeth High Court judge Irma Schoeman, who on Tuesday found Tyane, 51, guilty of abducting and raping two little girls, ultimately trying to murder one of them.

Handing down judgment,  Schoeman said the state had proved beyond reasonable doubt that Tyane was guilty on all the charges against him.

He was convicted on Tuesday on two counts of rape, two of kidnapping and one of attempted murder.

In her judgment, Schoeman commended Tyane’s victims, aged five and six at the time they were kidnapped, adding that their powers of observation showed them to be reliable and honest witnesses.

“No criticism could be levelled against their evidence.

“[Their] powers of observation are acute.

“[They] could remember how [Tyane] tied them up and with what.

“[The  five-year-old] could describe the furniture in the shack and even the colour of the cupboard as depicted in the photo album.

“[They] could give a description [of Tyane] after two years and could remember his name,” Schoeman said.  

Other witnesses, including the girls’ mothers, were credible and had made a good impression on the court, Schoeman said.

“The anguish and torment the mothers went through that night [while searching and finding their daughters] ... was horrendous.

“[The mother of the six-year-old] found her child bleeding and feared for her life,” Schoeman said.

Schoeman said evidence from state witness Nopinki Funani was clear and concise and stood to be accepted by the court.

Funani had testified that on the night of September 20 2017 she had accompanied the mothers to the New Brighton police station and then went with the search party looking for the girls.

Funani said at one stage on the way to the stadium where the six-year-old was found, Tyane had joined the search party and had said to Funani: “People are cruel”.   

Schoeman found the state had proved beyond reasonable doubt that on September 20 2017 Tyane had lured the two girls to his Chris Hani informal settlement shack where he forced them to undress, tied them up and raped them.

He then took the six-year-old to a field near the Ford Stadium in New Brighton where he stabbed the little girl 10 times in the head, neck and face as well as her right hand and left her for dead under a heap of rubbish.

She was later found by concerned community members and was taken to Dora Nginza Hospital where she was able to tell her mother where her friend was being kept.

Police found the five-year-old naked under a blanket on Tyane’s bed with her hands tied and a cloth around her neck just after 3am on September 21 2017.

In his testimony, Tyane claimed he had no knowledge of how the little girl had found her way onto his bed, tied up and naked.

Schoeman said Tyane’s version of events and his claim that blood from the six-year-old girl was planted on his clothes the day he was arrested was “so absurd it stands to be rejected”.

“[Tyane’s] evidence cannot reasonably, possibly be true and stands to be rejected,” Schoeman said.

After Tyane was convicted, he attempted to hand Schoeman an envelope.

Schoeman refused to accept the envelope and instructed Tyane’s legal representative Khaya Saziwa to consult with him first.

Pre-sentencing proceedings are expected to begin on Wednesday when victim impact reports are expected to be submitted to the court.