Slain LGBTQ+ netballer and drag queen Alfredo April remembered

The LGBTQ+ community in Cape Town is honouring Alfredo April, a beloved netball player, hairstylist, and drag performer, who was brutally murdered last week.

According to the Daily Voice, April, affectionately known as “Tannie” (aunty), was killed in the early hours of Thursday morning.

April’s devastated mother, Sophia, told the publication that she saw her 40-year-old son alive for the last time around 1 am when he left their Malmesbury home. He informed her that he was going to assist a friend who had messaged him, asking for bus fare.

“I expressed my concern about him leaving home in the middle of the night. I had a bad feeling about the entire situation,” she said.

A short while later, she and her younger son were summoned to another house where April had sought help after his throat was slit. Police pronounced him dead at the scene at 2:20 am.

A 28-year-old suspect has been arrested in connection with the murder, although further details, including a possible motive, have not been released.

Friends and acquaintances expressed their grief and shock at April’s murder on social media.

In a poem, Hilton Galiepie Henkeman described him as an entrepreneur and a prominent figure and personality who served the community.

“He always dressed smart and had a flair, Now he has been taken away, so far away, But remember he was a shining star, Your voice may be silenced, But your memories will never be silenced, There are no limits in the sky, Alfredo Lorenzo April, fly high,” he wrote.

Anushca De Patre shared her sorrow at the loss of “My Drag Mother [and] a Drag Mother to many Queer People in Malmesbury.”

Anroux Marais, the Western Cape Provincial Minister of Cultural Affairs and Sport, honoured April, who played netball under the West Coast Netball Federation.

“Alfredo was passionate about the sport of netball, and his unexpected passing is a great loss,” said Marais.

Heartbroken members of the Abbotsdale Netball Club wrote on Facebook that “Tannie” was “an amazing mentor, coach, friend, and umpire,” adding that “your netball legacy will undoubtedly endure.”

Wentzel April (no relation), Cape Town Pride Festival Director, stated in a message to Mamba: “We are deeply saddened to lay to rest yet another sibling in our community. We are devastated by the circumstances surrounding Alfredo April’s passing. On behalf of Cape Town Pride, we would like to express our heartfelt condolences to Alfredo’s family and friends.”