Anele Bhengu LGBTQ

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LGBTQ Murder: Latest brutal killing sets country back – MEC

The latest brutal murder near Durban has sparked fears in the LGBTQ community that they are increasingly becoming targets of homophobia.

Anele Bhengu LGBTQ

The Conversation No reuse

KwaZulu-Natal Social Development MEC, Nonhlanhla Khoza, has urged South Africans to stand side by side to protect the LGBTQ IA+ community from abuse and murder.  

This follows an incident where a body of yet another young woman, Anele Bhengu, 22, was found dumped after she was allegedly raped, stabbed and had her throat slit and stomach cut open.  The incident is allegedly another homophobic attack on a member of the local LGBTQ community.

The latest brutal murder of Bhengu at Kwamakhutha, south of Durban, has sparked more fears with the gay and lesbian community as they increasingly becoming targets of homophobia.  It is believed that Bhengu was murdered after her friend  fetched her from home.  

Khoza sent her condolences to the Bhengu family following their loss. 

Reacting to the latest murder, Khoza said the increasing incidents of murders of LGBTQIA+  in the province were “disgusting and shocking”.  She said it was clear that  more needed to be done to stop hate crimes.  

“The brutal murder of this child is symptomatic of the challenges we have in the society. We are left in shock and fear by the killing of our children in this province,” she said.  

She added that the crimes were setting the country’s progress back.    

“Our Constitution was the first in the world to protect people from discrimination because of their sexual orientation. We also became the first in the African continent to legalise same-sex marriages, but we still experience these murders and abuses,” Khoza said.  

She said that although the government had continued to fight the scourge of these murders, some communities continued to discriminate against members of the LGBTQ community, based on their sexual orientation.   

“We all have a responsibility to end these violent crimes in the province. We need to get to the bottom of this as to why people have so much hatred towards the LGBTQ IA+ community.  We call on all citizens to work with the law enforcement agencies, government and different bodies to end such cruelty,” Khoza said.  

Khoza has assembled a team of social workers to meet with the Bhengu family to offer them counselling.