Cape Town -A grieving Langa family believes their son Mvumisi Tshonepi was stabbed to death because of his sexuality.
The 26-year-old was walking with his friend on Sunday night when he came under attack and was stabbed in the chest with a sharp object.
His family claims Mvumisi was a victim of homophobic jibes before the stabbing.
Speaking to the Cape Times on Wednesday, his mother Nomboniso Tshonepi said she would not rest until Mvumisi’s killer was arrested and put behind bars.
“I don't understand why they would stab him to death because he is not a violent person.
He was stabbed just for being different.
He was stabbed because he was gay and what I am sure of is that whoever did this is from around the area. It was not a robbery at all because he was called nasty and sexually-discriminatory names before the incident.
I want the suspect behind bars and also to tell why he did what he did to my son,” said Nomboniso.
Police spokesperson FC Van Wyk said: “The 26-year-old male was taken to a local medical facility where he succumbed due to injuries sustained. An unknown male suspect fled the scene on foot and is yet to be arrested."
LGBTQIA+ activist Kamva Gwana said: “The community has been an overlooked victim of hate crimes in this country for years now.
The community and activists and advocates have been calling for the Hate Crimes Bill to mitigate these targeted attacks for years.”
Anyone with information can anonymously contact Crime Stop at 086 0010 111 or use the MySaps mobile app.
Cape Times