UNATHI OBOSE
Members of Lesbian Gays Bisexual Transgender Queer Intersexual + (LGBTQI) community protested in front of Khayelitsha Magistrates’ Court, where a teenager made his first appearance on Monday 8 December in connection with the death of Kwakhanya Ntlanganiso, allegedly killed at BT informal settlement in Site C on Wednesday 3 December owing to his sexuality.
His body was discovered between the shacks on Thursday morning (4 December), his eyes gouged out, bricks next to his severely-injured head and his abdomen partially burnt. Sibusiso Nqunqeka, LGBTQI + community leader in Site C and member of Khulani Khayelitsha Queer Hub, said all that is demanded is for Ntlanganiso’s family to find closure for their heartbreaking loss.
Western Cape National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila confirmed “a child in conflict with the law” appeared in the Khayelitsha Magistrates’ Court charged with murder.
“All we need is justice to prevail for Kwakhanya Ntlanganiso. He was a member of the LGBTQI + community. We believe his death had something to do with his sexuality. We are here to support his family and want the perpetrator to rot in jail.” Members of LGBTQI+ have long felt they are not safe in certain parts of the city, where prejudice against them is rife.
Such prejudice is a principal factor in Ntlanganiso’s brutal killing, the deceased’s aunt, Nontombi Tengeni, believed.
She also related his family’s heartbreak: “We knew about Kwakhanya’s sexuality, and we had no problem about that. The last time we saw him it was on Wednesday 3 December after 19:00. He left the house carrying two Savannah cider bottles. According to the information we got from some of the people at BT section a group of boys had approached him. One of them said ‘hey bit*h’. They wanted to take his Savannahs and he refused and fought back, and they left him. As Kwakhanya was walking between the shacks it was suspected the boys took another route and entered the area in front of him and hit him on the head several times with bricks.” His skull was fractured to the point that his eyes popped out.
Tengeni said Ntlanganiso upper body was also partially burnt. A burnt bucket was lying next to his body, which is believed to have been set alight and then used to burn him.
“We are devastated by the way my nephew died. We were expecting a lot from him. We want the suspect to tell us who his accomplice is.”
“The case against the 17-year-old has been postponed until Wednesday 10 December for bail application and a place of safety to be found,” said Ntabazalila. “The state will oppose the release of the child in conflict with the law.”
