Murdered gay man Motse Moeketsi laid to rest

Motse Moeketsi, another member of the LGBTIQ+ community who’s been brutally murdered, has been laid to rest.

His grieving family and friends remembered and honoured the 36-year-old health and safety practitioner at his funeral in his hometown of Sasolburg in the Free State on Saturday.

Moeketsi went missing on 18 June when he was last seen driving out of the Palm Springs residential complex in Meredale, in the South of Johannesburg.

His vehicle was first found abandoned in Freedom Park and his body was discovered a few days later. It’s believed that he was stabbed to death and reportedly set alight.

“We are heartbroken,” Moeketsi’s cousin, who asked to not be named, told MambaOnline. “It is quite hard to accept that he is gone… especially because of the way he was killed.”

She described him as “the kind of person who was always smiling and always wanting to see other people happy,” adding that, “He was a good soul.”

While MambaOnline has been unable to verify further details or a possible motive, it’s believed that no suspects have been arrested in connection with the murder.

Moeketsi is the 15th confirmed LGBTIQ+ individual killed in South Africa since 12 February; most recently Lulama Mvandaba who was murdered in Khayelitsha in the Western Cape.

In addition, gay man Sam Mbatha is still missing after a male body was discovered in his burnt-out car in Klipgat in the North West province on 17 June. The remains have yet to be identified through DNA testing.

Here are the other known victims of the LGBTIQ+ murders that have shaken South Africa since 12 February 2021:

• Bonang Gaelae, 29, whose throat was slashed in Sebokeng on 12 February.
• Nonhlanhla Kunene, 37, whose body was found half naked in Edendale, Pietermaritzburg on 5 March.
• Sphamandla Khoza, 34, who was beaten, stabbed and had his throat slit on 29 March in Kwamashu, Durban.
• Nathaniel ‘Spokgoane’ Mbele, who was stabbed in the chest in Tshirela, Vanderbijlpark on 2 April.
• Khulekani Gomazi, 27, who was beaten to death on 3 April in Mpophomeni in KwaZulu-Natal after being accused of sexual assault.
• Andile ‘Lulu’ Nthuthela, 41, whose mutilated and burned body was found on 10 April in KwaNobuhle, Kariega.
• Lonwabo Jack, a young LGBTIQ+ individual who had just celebrated his 22nd birthday on 17 April. His lifeless body was found on a pavement the next day in Nyanga, Cape Town.
• Lucky Kleinboy Motshabi, 30, whose body was found in a field in the town of Dennilton, Limpopo on 24 April. He was naked with stab wounds on his body.
• Phelokazi Mqathana, 24, who was stabbed to death on the weekend of 1 May in Khayelitsha, Cape Town. It was reported that a man stabbed her after she rejected his advances.
• Lindokuhle Mapu, 23, who was stabbed to death in Mfuleni, outside of Cape Town, on 9 May.
• Aubrey Boshoga, 48, whose body was dumped outside his house in Johannesburg on 29 May.
• Masixole Level, 28, whose body was found on a street in Kwazakhele, in the Eastern Cape, on 6 June.
• Anele Bhengu, 28, whose stabbed and mutilated body was discovered in KwaMakhutha, KZN, on 13 June.
• Lulama Mvandaba, who died days after being beaten outside a shebeen in Khayelitsha in the Western Cape.

Supporters are urged to sign the online petition demanding action against LGBTIQ+ hate and violence in South Africa.