Murder of Zoliswa Nkonyana
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| Murder of Zoliswa Nkonyana | |
|---|---|
| Location | Khayelitsha, South Africa |
| Date | 4 February 2006 |
| Weapons | Golf clubs, bricks, knives |
| Deaths | 1 |
| Victim | Zoliswa Nkonyana |
| Perpetrators |
|
| Motive | Sexual orientation of victim |
| Accused | 9 |
| Convictions | Murder |
| Convicted | 4 |
Zoliswa Nkonyana (died 4 February 2006) was a South African woman who was murdered by a group of at least four men while walking home from a shebeen in Khayelitsha. In 2012, four men were found guilty of her murder. The verdict was noted as groundbreaking due to it explicitly stating that Nkonyana had been murdered due to her being a lesbian, a first in South African legal history.
During the 1980s, incidents of violence against women, including physical and sexual assaults, became more common in South Africa. Known as "jackrolling", it was summarised as men targeting a woman perceived to consider herself as "better than them" with the idea of beating and raping her to "teach them how to be proper women". This developed into attacking LGBTQ women in order to "correct" their sexuality, with the term "corrective rape" being coined to describe it. Corrective rape disproportionately impacts black women in South Africa, particularly in poorer townships.[1]
In 2003, Human Rights Watch and the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission had published a joint report expressing concern for the safety of black and mixed race lesbians in South African townships, particularly in the context of increasing violent and sexual crimes against women more generally across the country. This was despite South Africa being at that time the only country in the world to have protection from discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation enshrined in its constitution. Their report called on the South African government to undertake public education campaigns on sexual orientation and gender identity, as well as to develop more effective mechanisms to manage complaints and to combat discrimination and abuse.[2][3]
Murder
Nkonyana was 19 years old at the time of her murder and lived in Khayelitsha, a township near Cape Town in Western Cape. An only child, Nkonyana was an out lesbian and was reported to have been a football player.[2][4][1]
On 4 February 2006, Nkonyana and a friend had visited Phela's Tavern, a shebeen in Khayelitsha when they were confronted by a woman who accused them of being "tomboys [who] wanted to be raped"; the allegation was reportedly triggered by Nkonyana and her friend using a women's bathroom. Nkonyana told the woman "we are not tomboys, we are lesbians. We are just doing our thing, so leave us alone" before attempting to leave the shebeen. The woman was reported to have called a mob totaling around nine men who pursued Nkonyana and her friend; while her friend was able to escape, Nkonyana was caught and beaten with golf clubs and stoned with bricks before being stabbed. She was attacked only ten feet away from her home. Nkonyana was transported to a local hospital, where she died of her injuries.[1][2][5][6]
Nkonyana's funeral was attended by over 400 people, including her partner. On 19 February, a pride parade was held in the nearby township of Gugulethu in her honour, the first such parade to be held there.[2]