“We will find Twitter LGBT hate teen,” say activists

Activists are determined to identify the person behind the KZN Twitter account that’s glorified raping lesbians and killing gay people.

Earlier this week, ‏@FezileKid outraged social media users when he tweeted: “When I meet gay this year imma shoot them, fuck I hate Iy’tabane,” and, “If I ever bump into Lesbians fucking I’d definately rape them, fuck them till they turn straight.”

His comments have gone on to make national headlines, but it’s not clear who @FezileKid actually is.

The person initially identified themselves as Fezile D Makhathini, a 17-year-old from Durban. He has since changed his name on Twitter to “ShakaZulu The Return.”

‏@FezileKid also claimed to be signing up to study at the Durban University Of Technology (DUT).

Nonhlanhla Mkhize, Manager of the Durban Lesbian and Gay Community & Health Centre, told Mambaonline: “We will find him.”

She confirmed that the organisation has already had informal discissions with DUT with the aim of tracking down the young man.

“Once registration is completed next week, we will start negotiating formally with the university,” she said.

Mkhize explained that if he is identified, “his comments would have to be reported to to the SA Human Rights Commission and even the Equality Court.”

She also noted that DUT has diversity programmes for students that could help the young man, whose Twitter posts are littered with deeply misogynistic and sexist comments, to “rehabilitate his thinking.”

As for reporting his account to Twitter, Mkhize was unsure. She noted that the overwhelming majority of responses to the hate speech had condemned the remarks.

“He has not got a lot of support. Perhaps we don’t want to block him but rather engage with him and make an example of him to others. Sometimes being hostile and taking legal action may not result in what you want to achieve. There is at least a dialogue. And that’s what we like.”

She added: “This is a young man who is really in trouble and needs serious intervention.”

However, efforts to find @FezileKid through DUT may prove to be fruitless. Shortly after Mambaonline talked to Mkhize, the DUT Twitter account posted that, “@FezileKid is not a DUT student. We completely distance ourselves from this person and his comments.”

DUT Communications Manager, Sinegugu Ndlovu, confirmed to Mambaonline: “The registrar did an investigation and he is not a student.” In a follow-up statement emailed to us, she explained that the name Fezile Makhathini was not found in the database of applicants that had applied to DUT.