The case against an 18-year-old male charged with the brutal murder of Kwakhanya Ntlanganiso between the shacks at BT informal settlement in Site C has been postponed to Wednesday 7 January for bail application.
His body was discovered the following morning, the 4th, partially burnt, his head severely injured with eyes out of their sockets.
Lesbian activist and founder of Free Gender from Khayelitsha Funeka Soldaat demanded justice for Ntlanganiso, who she believed was murdered because of his sexuality.
“We must bear in mind the straight people killing us are among those who gave birth to us, for gays and lesbians tend not to give birth. So we are being killed by the same people who brought us into this world.”
She appealed to the court not to grant the suspect bail because it would send a bad message out to communities, who may interpret such murderous action as acceptable, and much needed to be done in terms of educating people against prejudice and fostering a culture of tolerance and acceptance of diversity and so on.
“There are the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children, against gender-based violence (GBV). There is World Aids Day and so on. We need a Homophobic Day, on which we educate people about us. It is a nationwide problem.”
The founder of Kasi Pride, Luxolo Ndlovu from Browns Farm in Philippi, spoke of the tragedy of the murder, that Ntlanganiso didn’t deserve to die the way he died.
“We are here to support the family. We are saying enough is enough. One life snatched is too many. We are appealing to our community members to be vigilant all the time.”
He reiterated Soldaat’s sentiments that a dialogue with all community stakeholders to explore ways to address the ongoing underlying endemic, destructive social attitudes that give rise to such violence and brutality.
