Yaya Mavundla and Inno Matijane Clash Over Trans Rights

Queer media personalities Yaya Mavundla and Inno Matijane have publicly clashed on X, with Mavundla accusing Matijane of fuelling transphobia.

Matijane, known for appearing in the Moja Love reality show The Way Ngingakhona, recently sparked controversy after it was reported that he had renounced his transgender identity and halted his transition, citing a belief that being transgender is incompatible with his Christian faith.

Over the weekend, Matijane shared several posts supporting his view that transgender women should not be allowed to use women’s bathrooms. One particularly contentious post that he reshared stated: “I CAN’T imagine the rape stats if trans men start using women’s bathrooms as a norm.”

In response, Mavundla wrote:

“You know I’ve been meaning to call you, but let me briefly say, you need really start saying less & less about trans women because lately all I see when I read your posts is a hateful person who’s battling with his identity. You are doing way too much.”

The transgender activist, artist and media personality added:

“Your tweets are VERY HARMFUL to us as trans people, you are inviting transphobia. You need to be aware of your platform and what it does. You are not some Inno from wherever. You having de-transition[ed] was your choice & no one judge[d] you but you are here EVERYDAY negative!”

Matijane responded by insisting that he did not intend to cause harm:

“Yaya you’re wrong and because I love you. I’ll let you have this one. As someone who still struggles with gender dysphoria myself. But one day what I am saying will make sense. Conversations like this aren’t meant to take [the] trans community back but actually help [the] trans community ❤️ I dedicated my entire life protecting the same community (LGBTQ+), the issue or what I’m being attacked for is that I don’t agree with some things. Separating real transwoman [sic] from those who use trans to violate others being one of the important reasons why conversations like this will be even more powerful when trans people participate in it to drive to solutions. It’s layered but like I said, I’ll leave it here and never speak on this again, but I hope one day you look back and see that my stance wasn’t to harm but to protect everyone.”

Mavundla was unconvinced, replying:

“I’m worried about not just myself but many trans & queer people who face danger EVERYDAY who have homophobic families. Who are not privileged like you. You NEED TO STOP.”

Matijane countered that he was simply expressing his personal experience:

“Where did I invite transphobia, can you kindly show me? What is it that I said that invited transphobia? Yaya. Again I love you, but I won’t engage on this. You know me ❤️ maybe you should’ve called, you know me personally!”

When Matijane cited negative incidents involving transgender individuals in the US and UK, Mavundla reacted angrily:

“You making this about the LGBTIQ+ community is so sick, this is general human behaviour (which is of course wrong) but it is not unique to a certain group of people, you should know this.”

She concluded with:

“I’m actually fucken PISSED!”

The public clash between Yaya Mavundla and Inno Matijane exposes ongoing tensions not only within society at large but also within queer communities concerning transgender rights and identities. It highlights the complex challenges queer individuals often face as they try to reconcile their identities with their faith.

More importantly, it underscores the urgent need for empathy, respectful dialogue, and solidarity—particularly in a context where transgender people continue to endure disproportionate levels of violence and discrimination.