IT was supposed to be a day of joy, but it turned into the worst day of their lives.
Musa Xulu (25) from Inanda Glebe, north of Durban in KZN, went to a shopping centre with two friends on Freedom Day to buy items for a friend’s birthday.
But when they arrived, one of the men who had been with Musa in the car told him he hated gays. Then he pulled out a gun and shot him.
He then ran away while the other one rushed Musa to a clinic, where he died. That friend referred Daily Sun to Musa’s sister.
Nomfundo Mthembu (37) said Musa’s friend told them there was no fight or argument before the shooting.
“Apparently he said: ‘ngizinyanya kabi izi******’ (I hate gay men) before shooting him.
“We suspect this friend had always wanted to kill him, and pretended to be cool all along,” said Nomfundo.
She said that the killer, who was their neighbour, has been on the run since then.
“We want him to be arrested and sentenced to life for what he did.”
Hlengiwe Buthelezi, a member of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Intersex community, said hate crime was on the rise and it was concerning.
“We don’t have full details, but we know that he was killed because he was gay. We will visit the family for more details,” said Hlengiwe.
She said they would join a peace walk to the local police station to encourage cops to arrest the killer.
Lieutenant-Colonel Nqobile Gwala said police received a complaint of an incident in Newtown A in Inanda, where a man was shot.
“The victim sustained gunshot wounds to the chest and was taken to the clinic, where he later succumbed to his injuries. A case of murder was opened for investigation.”
