Community march to demand #JusticForLonwabo
THE knife allegedly used to kill 22-yearold Lonwabo Jack, from Nyanga East, last week was found, Nyanga station commander Vuyisile Ncata has revealed.
Ncata was addressing residents who had marched to the police station on the weekend, seeking justice for Jack, who was killed on his birthday. Ncata also said that semen, which was also found on his private parts, was taken to a lab for testing.
“The investigations are almost complete and what is now outstanding is the results from the lab. The knife that was used had blood on it, and we suspect the blood belonged to the deceased,” he said.
The community demanded that the case of Jack be prioritised and escalated to the provincial detectives, bail to be opposed for the accused, and monthly updates on progress of the case be given to the task team that consists of the family, community and civil society organisations.
#JusticeforLonwabo campaign representative Selina Tyatyeka said:
“Due to the fact that there has been a rise in hate crimes in Nyanga, leading to murders of members of the LGBTQIA+ community, such as Ntsikie Tyatyeka, Phumeza Nkolonzi and Lonwabo Jack, answers are sought as to practical actions taken by the police departments and stations handling these cases.”
Pharie Sefali, from Triangle Project, said while constitutional protection remained a crucial victory by the community, it had not been enough to safeguard and make meaningful the rights of LGBTQIA+ persons.
“As long as there is no response from the State and its actors… all the homo-transphobic violence and deaths are state-sponsored violence. We have to act now. It is not a coincidence that, in the main, it is poor black people who suffer still today, at the hands of the logic of apartheid spatial planning, in townships and rural areas, who are victims of this senseless violence and loss of life,” she said.
Community Safety MEC Albert Fritz said he would write to the GBV desk at the Court Watching Brief Unit, to ask them to follow the case and other GBV cases.
“When we speak of gender-based violence, we include all of those who suffer violence, and even death, because of societal reactions and perceptions around gender. This includes people like Jack, who suffered this gruesome death on his birthday. Nobody deserves that. And I am not going to rest until we see a drastic reduction in gender-based violence,” he said.