For Immediate Release, September 23, 2009
Media Contact: Sarah Tobias, 212-430-6034, stobias@iglhrc.org

(New York, September 23, 2009) IGLHRC is disappointed at yesterday’s verdict from a court in Delmas, South Africa, convicting only one of three men on trial for the murder of South African lesbian Eudy Simelane. The body of 31-year old Simelane, a soccer player on South Africa’s national women’s team, was found in a field in KwaThema township outside Johannesburg in April 2008. She had been gang-raped and died from multiple stab wounds.

“I was appalled at the level of homophobia in the courtroom,” said Monica Mbaru, IGLHRC’s Africa Program Coordinator who attended a hearing in the case in July. At one point, Judge Ratha Mokgoathleng objected to the use of the word “lesbian” in court. IGLHRC joins many South African activists in believing that homophobia may have prevented the judge from fully acknowledging the role that disdain for the victim’s sexual orientation and gender expression played as motives for the crime.

Eudy Similane is one of many victims in a series of rapes and murders targeting black lesbians in that country. South Africa’s violent crime rate has escalated starkly in recent years, with 18,148 murders and 70,514 crimes of sexual violence being reported between April 2008 and March 2009. Other black lesbian victims include Sizakele Sigasa and Salome Moosa, murdered execution style on July 7, 2007 in Soweto, and Zoliswa Nkonyane who was stoned to death in February 2006 in Cape Town. These attacks continue unabated despite the South African Constitution’s much vaunted protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people.

“Despite yesterday’s conviction, there is immense tragedy in this moment,” said IGLHRC Executive Director Cary Johnson. “The killer showed no remorse, the police are indifferent, the courts provide no redress for lesbian victims. How can South Africa end epidemic levels of violence without effectively prosecuting crimes against its LGBT citizens?”

“As I watched the rapist confess, pain and anger filled my soul.” said Victor Mukasa, IGLHRC’s Program Associate for Africa.

One man, 23 year-old Thato Mpithi, had previously confessed to murdering Simelane. He was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment on charges of murder, robbery and being an accomplice to rape in February 2009. Mpithi also implicated three other defendants but later refused to testify against them. As a consequence, Judge Ratha Mokgoathleng yesterday sentenced 24 year-old Themba Mvubu—who was arrested with the victim’s blood on his pants—to life imprisonment for Simelane’s murder. He acquitted the two other defendants citing insufficient evidence. Local activists are dismayed that these men were not charged, at minimum, with failing to take measures to save Similane’s life.

According to Mbaru, “The partial conviction sends a message that people can continue to rape and murder lesbians with impunity. This is the antithesis of building a culture of good governance in South Africa.”

Mbaru will stand in solidarity with the South African LGBT community and speak at a rally at the scene of Eudy Simelane’s murder tomorrow as part of Soweto Pride.

Find out more about IGLHRC’s work in South Africa.

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