The murder of a 21-year-old South African lady who came out of the closet to openly declare her sexuality as a lesbian, Matshidiso ‘Pasca’ Melamu, has provoked widespread anger in the land as angry protesters have bayed for justice for the woman who was brutally beaten, gang-raped and murdered by unknown men who also burnt her body beyond recognition.
Daily Sun reports that the mutilated body of the lady who was waiting for the result of her matric examinations, was found in Lakeside in the Gauteng region of the country in December.
Holding her result, her grieving mother, Betty Melamu, said she is devastated by the death of her daughter.
Her gruesome murder has also left her family, the police and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI), community reeling in shock.
Photo Credit: Daily Sun
Coming out in protest, the LGBTI members, joined by several political groups, took to the streets of Evaton, south of Johannesburg to protest the senseless killing of the lady, with the aim of raising awareness and demand the immediate arrest of her killers.
The LGBTI spokeswoman, Kegomodicoe Mocoancoeng, said Pasca’s murder was a hate crime which should embarrass the areas and the nation as a whole.
“It was a brutal murder because she was raped, mutilated and her body was also burned.
This a clear indication that some members of society are not willing to accept us and yet they know of our existence. We want to see change because Pasca’s killers are still roaming the streets,” Mocoancoeng said.
Her mother said that Pasca left home on December 16 , 2015, and never came back.
“Four days later, we heard rumours about a girl who had been found murdered in Lakeside.
We had to call a local radio station to request a description of the dead woman and we were told a girl with a tattoo on her leg and a gold tooth had been killed. We immediately knew it was our Pasca. We still can’t believe she’s gone.
Who could do such a horrible thing to my child?”
No comments:
Post a Comment