Juvenile suspect appears for gay man’s murder
THE 17-year-old boy accused of killing a 22-year-old gay man from Nyanga has appeared in the Athlone Magistrate’s Court.
The case was postponed to April 29 for bail information.
National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said the accused had been charged with murder “for now” and has been accommodated in a place of safety in Bonnytoun.
While the suspect was appearing in court, Nyanga residents and civil society organisations congregated for a gender-based violence awareness campaign in preparation for a bigger march.
Ilitha Labantu spokesperson Siyabulela Monakali said the organisation participated in the campaign to try to raise awareness of the plight of vulnerable people, particularly victims and survivors of gender-based violence.
“We visited the family and the spot where his body was found. Every person representing their organisations was denouncing what has been taking place with regards to the amount of violence and crime and gender-based violence in the area.
“People are tired; they want things to change because far too often these issues are going to be raised now but will die down later.
“They want action, a sense of transformative justice for the issue of crime and gender-based violence plaguing the Nyanga community. We know that every year since the past decade, Nyanga has been the murder capital. The lack of police resources plays a huge role in what we come to see with the high levels of lawlessness in Nyanga,” Monakali said.
Justice For Lonwabo Campaign representative Selina Tyatyeka said it had come to light that the perpetrator had been targeting members of the LGBTQIA+ community, as the residents were made aware of a pending rape case against him.
“We want the justice system to know how much of a danger he is in the community, especially to the LGBTQIA+ community, as his alleged rape and killing of Lonwabo has exposed him. We believe if the police were adequately patrolling the streets, this would not have got to a point where Lonwabo was killed, and for that we are demanding that there be constant patrols in our areas.
Tyatyeka said that on Saturday the community would march to the Nyanga police station to hand over a memorandum.