Iranti notes with grave concern news reports released in September of the murder of a 14-year-old lesbian girl in Mpumalanga, Zinhle Sekgoapa. Initially kidnapped and held to ransom Sekgoapa was later found dead near a pit-latrine.

Her family and the local LGBTQIA+ community are only the latest to be devastated by a wave of homophobic and transphobic violence that has shaken South Africa throughout 2020, along with horrific rates of gender-based violence and femicide.

The year began with the residents of Thembisile Hani Local Municipality marching against gender-based violence on 2 January after the brutal murder on 29 December of Portia Mtsweni, a lesbian woman in Tweefontein, Mpumalanga.

Shortly thereafter, trans activist and friend of Iranti, Nare Mphela, was stabbed to death in her own home in Limpopo.

In February a budding young LGBTQIA+ activist and Durban-based musician, Lindokuhle Cele, was also murdered, this time in public with onlookers failing to prevent his death.

On 21 March – Human Rights Day – 16-year-old Liyabona Mabishi was stabbed in Khayelitsha near Cape Town, succumbing later to her wounds.

In June, well-known dancer, choreographer, and activist, Kirvan Fortuin, was killed in Macassar near Cape Town, allegedly stabbed by a teenager.

More recently, in September, Iranti became aware of two cases of hate crimes in Port Elizabeth; the assault of 25-year old Siphosethu Nkololo by a taxi driver who pushed her from his vehicle and drove over her foot, and the murder of Shanice Jonathan – a mother living in Schauderville – allegedly raped and killed because of her sexual orientation.

These are only the stories that have been made public – and for many of these cases, the perpetrators remain unfound and unaccountable for their actions. Iranti demands action from law enforcement across the country to bring justice to those harmed by violent homophobes and transphobes, before more lives are needlessly lost to the forces of hatred and fear. We also ask that government make the prevention of these hate crimes a priority. We cannot afford inaction by police and the courts any longer!

Iranti is committed to gathering more information about the cases of Shanice Jonathan and Siphosethu Nkololo of Port Elizabeth and Zinhle Sekgoapa of Mpumalanga. We will do all we can to understand the facts and ensure that their stories are heard, so the we can remember their names are prevent the repetition of senseless hate crimes.

If you have any information pertaining to the above cases, or would like to report a human rights violation, please contact gugu@iranti.org.za

For media queries, contact kellyn@iranti.org.za