A 24-YEAR-OLD lesbian woman was murdered in Site C, Khayelitsha, in Cape Town.
Phelokazi Mqathana was allegedly murdered by a man who couldn’t take no for an answer.
Speaking to Daily Sun, family member Lelethu Ngalo said the victim went out to have fun near her home.
“We heard that the man was touching her bum. When she told him to stop, he stabbed her,” said Ngalo.
The incident left the family shocked and angry.
“No one has a right to touch anyone inappropriately. What the suspect did to my sister is evil, and he took someone who was very dedicated,” added Ngalo.
Mqathana had just finished her chef course.
“He was a go-getter who had plans to take this family to another level, but that won’t happen anymore,” said Ngalo.
Friend Zenande Tamsanqa said the news left everyone devastated.
“Mqathana was a good friend who always showed us the right way,” said Tamsanqa.
She said the dead would always tell them when they were wrong.
“We are not safe. We can die at anytime. What happened to her could have happened to anyone,” she said.
Tamsanqa described the victim as a big dreamer who was taking care of her family.
“Women are under attack from men, not just only lesbians. Men think they can do anything they want to women as if we’re their toys. What did we do to deserve this?” Tamsanqa said Mqathana was a hustler who never gave up on anything she wanted until she achieved it.
“We urge our government to give killers a harsh sentence because they do this knowing they will get away with murder. How many women need to die before government takes serious action against these perpetrators?”
A resident in Khayelitsha said it was time to fight back. “The time to sit back is over. Women are being killed every day, yet nothing happens to the perpetrators. We need to take the law into our hands or we’ll continue dying.”
Colonel Andre Traut said Khayelitsha police received a call to attend a crime scene that took place in Mziwoxolo Street.
"On their arrival they were directed by the community to the body of a female who succumbed to death of what appeared to stab wounds to the chest", said Traut.
He said police detectives followed up on leads that they received and later a suspect was arrested and is currently in custody.
