Finally, Justice for Slain Lesbian Refilwe Malope – Yet Questions Remain

Activists have welcomed the sentencing of two men to life in prison for the brutal murder of lesbian woman Refilwe Malope in a suspected hate crime in Limpopo in 2022.

On Wednesday, the Limpopo Polokwane High Court convicted and sentenced cousins, former police officer Thabo Moses Mokwana (42) and Modirela Maxwell Mokwana (45) of Motsephiri village, to life imprisonment for murder.

They also received seven years for kidnapping and three years for defeating the ends of justice. The sentences will run concurrently.

The Kidnapping and Murder

The 31-year-old Malope was abducted in Kgaphamadi village on 9 May 2022. Witnesses testified that the men forced the screaming woman into the boot of their vehicle.

After a frantic search for her whereabouts, her body was discovered more than a month later at the bottom of a mine shaft in Benoni, Gauteng. Specialised equipment and teams were needed to recover her remains in a gruelling four-hour operation.

Despite the witness testimony linking them to the abduction, the accused pleaded not guilty.

Family Impact and Prosecution

State advocate Patrick Magoda submitted a Victim Impact Statement from Malope’s family, outlining the devastating psychological toll of her murder. According to the family, Malope knew and trusted her killers.

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) described Malope as someone who “worked tirelessly to ensure that members of the LGBTQ+ community were treated with dignity, integrity, and fairness.”

NPA Regional Spokesperson Mashudu Malabi-Dzhangi added:

“The state further submitted that the accused violated the right of the deceased to live, and as such, they deserve to be permanently removed from society, especially the accused one, as he was a police officer and his duty was to combat crime.”

Activists Welcome the Verdict

LGBTQ+ rights group Access Chapter 2 (AC2), which monitored the case for over three years, hailed the judgment as “justice served.”

Mable Aphane, Paralegal Officer at AC2, told MambaOnline that Malope’s family felt relief at the outcome, although questions remain about the killers’ motive.

“The perpetrators denied involvement throughout the trial and did not provide anything tangible. No clear motive for Refilwe’s murder came to light,” said Aphane.

AC2 asserted that the ruling “affirms that hate crimes, gender-based violence and homophobic killings will not go unpunished.”

Deputy Ministers Speak Out

Deputy Ministers Mmapaseka Steve Letsike (Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities) and Andries Nel (Justice and Constitutional Development) issued a joint media statement welcoming the conviction of Malope’s killers.

“Her murder was not only a crime against her as an individual, but an assault on the values enshrined in our Constitution—the right to life, equality, dignity, and freedom from discrimination,” they said.

Letsike and Nel also extended their deepest condolences to Malope’s family, asserting:

“May they find some measure of comfort in knowing that justice has been served, and may her legacy inspire us to continue striving for a South Africa where all people—regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation—are safe, respected, and free.”