Ekurhuleni Pride 2018 changes venue to Kwa-Thema

Ekurhuleni Pride’s 10th annual LGBTQ+ Pride event is still taking place on September 8, but will now be held in Kwa-Thema.

While the event was scheduled to be hoested in Tembisa, Ekurhuleni Pride will instead take place at Eudy’s Park, Kwa-Thema, on the East Rand.

The sudden change of venue was apparently due to a double booking. The news was not well-received by some on social media.

Ntsupe Mohapi, the chairperson of EPOC (which organises the event) said that the new venue was nevertheless very appropriate.

“The significance of the venue is that the first Ekurhuleni Pride was held there 10 years ago, just two months after the brutal murder of Eudy Simelane,” she told Mambaonline.

Eudy Simelane was a well-know lesbian soccer player who played for the country’s Banyana-Banyana team. The midfielder was found dead in a ditch in the outskirts of her township in Kwa-Thema. Police said she had been gang-raped, robbed and stabbed 25 times. Only two of her four attackers were convicted.

The Ekurhuleni Pride event will consist of a picnic and a dialogue starting from 10 a.m. This year’s theme is traditional wear.

Busi Mlauzi from the Tembisa LesGay organisation said that the event will be looking at various social challenges within the LGBTI community. “We we will be addressing intimate violence among LGBTI couples, and we will also discuss how we can end the spread of HIV and STI within the community and also the issue of gender based violence in our communities.”

Ekurhuleni Pride has been existence for 10 years and seeks to bring the Ekurhuleni LGBTI community together to make a political statement by marching and opening conversations about homosexuality, diversity, safety and HIV, TB & STIs.

This is an open invitation to the (Ekurhuleni) LGBTI community to speak up on issues that they feel need to be put onto the table and addressed with urgency. More information on the event will be communicated in due time. Any inquiries can be made with Busi on 061 2483819