In South Africa, the Fight for LGBT Equality Has Only Just Begun
As we’ve reported here at Queer Majority, the outlook for LGBT people in Africa is bleak, with homophobic laws, targeted violence, and organized hate all on the rise. Not to mention the chaos caused by the sudden halt of US foreign aid. But even among the continent’s LGBT success stories, such as South Africa, dark days have arrived. There’s been an unprecedented increase in LGBT attacks in South Africa and its landlocked neighbor Lesotho, despite same-sex relations being legal in both southern African countries.
In November 2006, South Africa became the first and still only African country to permit and recognize same-sex marriages. Last year, South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the Prevention and Combating of Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Bill into law, which imposes a range of legal penalties on anti-LGBT activity. If LGBT people are thriving anywhere in Africa, it would be South Africa, right? But regardless of the on-paper legal protections in place, there has been a rise in attacks on LGBT people with no end in sight.
In February 2025, Muhsin Hendricks, the country's first openly gay imam, was shot dead in a suspected assassination. Two months later, in April, the corpse of LGBT activist Linton Jutzen was found in an open field between a primary school and a tennis court in a likely murder. The popular dating app Grindr has also been weaponized by homophobes as a way to entrap and then attack and extort LGBT people with little to no recourse for the victims.
Many reformers are convinced that progress must ultimately come from within religious communities, with some help.
"In the case of Muhsin Hendricks, the lack of strong evidence and the influence of religious beliefs that condemn LGBT people underscore the importance of interfaith dialogue,” Thabsie Mabezane and Ninky Simelane, who run the Lebo Basadi Foundation, a South African LGBT nonprofit, told me. “We need to establish LGBT interfaith networks that can facilitate conversations and promote acceptance.”
Mabezane and Simelane also said the spike in attacks is rooted in historical and cultural influences, misconceptions about LGBT people, and inherited behaviors fueled by patriarchal and discriminatory attitudes.
"The spread of misinformation on social media platforms and a lack of understanding about LGBT experiences exacerbate the problem. LGBT women in particular face high levels of violence, displacement, and [homicide], often due to family rejection and gender-based violence," added Mabezane and Simelane. "The current political and religious narratives are hostile, and the justice system is inadequate, leaving many cases [of attacks on LGBT people] unreported and unresolved. Even activists and survivors seeking refuge in safe houses like Lebo Basadi Foundation's transitional home for LGBT women face ongoing challenges.”
In May 2025 in Pretoria, South Africa, during a media roundtable on LGBT issues, Deputy Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, Mapaseka Steve Letsike, spoke about the need for initiatives beyond just legal protections to keep gay, bi, and trans South Africans safe.
"We need more inclusive education that dismantles prejudice from an early age. Our curriculum must reflect the realities of diverse identities. We need accountability. Hate crimes must be prosecuted, discrimination must be addressed. Silence from institutions must no longer be an option. We need solidarity; government alone cannot shift society as a whole, a unified approach is required to enact meaningful change.”
The Deputy Minister also called upon families, faith leaders, traditional authorities, and communities to rise together against hate.
"Our constitution must remain respected, and the LGBT community must also be respected for their rights. Together, we must resist hate, restore dignity, and respect humanity as we continue to walk proudly and loudly in the direction of justice,” said Letsike.
Geographically located entirely within South Africa, the Kingdom of Lesotho is one of only three countries in the world to be landlocked in such a way — along with San Marino and Vatican City. While fully autonomous and independent, the two nations remain more closely linked than mere neighbors. Trends in one often follow trends in the other, and in Lesotho, the situation for LGBT people is even worse.
Source: BBC News.
According to a recent Universal Periodic Review, a human rights review conducted by the United Nations in every member State, LGBT people in Lesotho are subjected to discrimination by both state and non-state actors, including in healthcare, the justice system, and legal gender recognition. Too often, this intolerance turns deadly. In April 2025, Kabelo Seseli, a gay crossdresser and LGBT activist from Lesotho was found dead with his genitals mutilated. The tragic murder was allegedly committed by his partner, Katleho Mosiuoa, who said he was unaware that Kabelo wasn’t female. Inspector Lipuo Doli of the Lesotho Mounted Police Service issued a public statement about the murder, urging people to be open about their sexual orientation when they meet potential partners, something LGBT activists regard as a homophobic shifting of responsibility from violent bigots to their victims.
In 2024, the Rainbow Alliance of Lesotho reported a case of a transgender woman who was fatally shot and dumped near her home. I spoke with the group’s program manager, Neo Kabi, about these kinds of incidents.
"The colonial culture and tradition that govern our society condemns LGBT relationships, especially men loving men and transgender relationships, which leads men to be ashamed of their sexuality and to cowardly resort to violence, sexual abuse, and the murder of LGBT people," Kabi told me.
According to Kabi, this seeming surge in LGBT attacks is not necessarily new, but is actually the result of greater visibility of intimate partner violence and hate crimes, which were previously seldom reported to law enforcement. Kabi also said that although same-sex relations have been legal in Lesotho since 2012, same-sex marriages remain outlawed and the government still upholds homophobic norms. In rural areas, new policies are often at the discretion of local chiefs.
Though strides have been made in both countries to protect the rights of the LGBT community, their safety is still at risk.
"While laws may exist on paper,” Mabezane and Simelane told me, “their implementation and enforcement are often inadequate. Governments in southern Africa must do more to protect LGBT rights, particularly in the absence of targeted laws.”
An age-old truth that has been remarked upon by scholars, reformers, religious leaders, and statesmen around the world is that laws alone cannot change a culture. No legislation, legal protection, or codified human rights can be fully actualized until societal attitudes accept them. South Africa, and to a lesser extent Lesotho, have gone further than most of the continent in passing laws to protect the LGBT community. Their next challenge is far more difficult: changing hearts and minds.
Published Sep 08, 2025
