The Director of the KwaZulu-Natal LGBT Recreation organisation, Hlengiwe Buthelezi, on Friday called on South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s government to sign a hates crimes bill into law.

Buthelezi said such a law will enable the country’s judiciary to prosecute hate crimes committed against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex (LGBTQI+)  community in the country.

While South Africa remained the only country with LGBTQI+ rights enshrined into its Constitution in the world, Buthelezi said it was failing to prosecute people who committed crimes against this community. 

Buthelezi said 25 years after late President Nelson Mandela signed the country’s Supreme Law to protect the community, his people continued to face hate crimes and widespread discrimination.

There was not much being done by the judiciary to prevent hate crimes against members of the LGBTQI+ community without a hate crimes law to empower it, the director said.

 This why the community was now calling for the “Prevention and Combating of Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Bill” to be signed into law, Buthelezi said.

 “It’s either they use culture or they use religion. Practically, a gay nation [does] not enjoy these rights that are enshrined in the constitution,” he said. 

 He added: “As you know, we are being killed. We are being bashed. Durban is now called a pink spot because, out of the nine provinces, KZN (and Durban to be specific) has a high number [of hate crimes].”

 “From February 20 this year, we’ve counted over 12 bodies — queer bodies — that have been killed due to hate crime,” Buthelezi said. 

NM/as/APA