Two life sentences for ‘cruel’ Kana

Anene’s killer-rapist ‘barbaric’, says judge

JOHANNES Kana showed no remorse for the murder and rape of Bredasdorp teen Anene Booysen, Judge Patricia Goliath told the Swellendam Circuit Court yesterday in handing down a sentence of two concurrent life terms.

“You show no remorse for these actions,” she told him before a packed courtroom. “Instead, you went ahead and tried to hide your complicity in the murderous attack on Anene.”

Kana received separate life sentences for Anene’s murder and the rape.

On Tuesday, the 22-year-old was found guilty of the Bredasdorp teen’s murder and rape. She was 17 at the time.

Judge Goliath said there were no “substantial and compelling” reasons to give a lesser sentence. “The extremely unfeeling and barbaric manner in which you attacked the deceased, the lack of remorse, and your calculated lies to try and hide your complicity, completely outweigh, in the court’s view, any mitigating circumstances.”

In a confession, Kana had admitted to assaulting and raping Anene at a Bredasdorp construction site, but said when he left her she was still alive.

She died in Tygerberg Hospital as a result of her injuries on February 2.

Judge Goliath yesterday repeatedly described Kana’s actions as “cruel” and “barbaric”.

“The cruel manner in which the rape took place was the direct cause of her death,” she said. “The doctors that treated her agreed… ( her) injuries were some of the worst they had ever witnessed.”

Judge Goliath asked how Kana could have left Anene alone after raping her, saying it was an act that showed a lack of feeling.

Kana appeared emotionless when he heard the sentence.

He quickly left the court afterwards, escorted by police.

Anene’s foster mother Corlia Olivier did not want to address the media after sentencing, but could be heard saying “I am relieved” to a lawyer.

Outside the court, Kana’s uncle, also called Johannes Kana, said the family would launch an appeal, adding they would not use lawyer Pieter du Toit, who had been representing Kana, and were in the process of finding a new lawyer.

“We believe an appeal court will show he is innocent. The forensic tests clearly show it wasn’t him,” he said.

Kana’s aunt, Mina Sarels, said she was shocked at the severity of the sentence.

She added she would help look after Kana’s five-monthold baby.

“He knows, and he knows we know, that he is not guilty.”

Following the verdict, Western Cape National Prosecuting Authority spokesman Eric Ntabazalila said justice had been done, and that the stiff sentence would act as a deterrent.

“As the NPA we welcome the sentence, as we have asked the court to impose two life terms,” he said.

“We think that the sentence handed down today is a victory for all victims of sexual violence around the country.”

jan.cronje@inl.co.za

AT LAST: Corlia Olivier, Anene Booysen’s foster mother, arrives at court. ‘I am relieved’, she told a lawyer after the sentence was handed down.

UNHAPPY: Kana’s uncle, also named Johannes Kana, maintains his nephew is innocent. He says the Kana family will appeal against the verdict and the sentence.