The life of murdered gay teen Kwakhanya Mhlanganisi was remembered in a moving memorial service on Tuesday, attended by classmates, family members, and civil society organisations at Intlanganiso Secondary School in Cape Town.
The casket containing the 16-year-old’s body was transported along Njongo Avenue in Site C, Khayelitsha followed by a procession of heartbroken family and loved ones, including Mhlanganisi’s devastated parents.
Community members joined the cavalcade as it made its way towards the slain teen’s old high school.
Mhlanganisi was beaten and burned to death on the night of the 3rd of December in a suspected homophobic hate crime that has shocked the LGBTIQ+ community in South Africa.
The procession arrived outside the school, but the body was not brought inside the hall where the service was hosted. Pastor Sheila Ndlandlu led the crowd of over one hundred mourners in prayer and song outside, before the group moved into the school hall.
Pastor Ndlandlu opened the memorial service by emphasising the scope of the hurt of Mhlanganisi’s loss. “Kwakhanya was not just a single life, Kwakhanya was a family, a community,” she remarked.
Various organisations participated in the memorial proceedings, including representatives from Khulani Khayelitsha Queer Hub, Free Gender, Khumbulani Pride, the EFF, and the ANC Women’s League, as well as a local councillor from Site C.
Friends, family, and classmates also paid tribute to Mhlanganisi during the service, which ended with candles being lit in his honour.
The memorial took place on the eve of the court hearing for one of Kwakhanya’s accused murderers. The court date was originally set for the 10th of December, but was postponed to the 17th of December, after his 18th birthday, so he could be tried as an adult.
Mhlanganisi’s body will be laid to rest in a funeral service in the Eastern Cape on the 20th of December.
The Khulani Khayelitsha Queer Hub is one of the community organisations supporting Kwakhanya’s family in this difficult period and is in need of material support in anticipation for the rescheduled court date in the beginning of next year. If you are willing and able to donate, Sibusiso Nqunqeka’s banking details are listed below:
Name: Sibusiso D Nqunqeka
Account Type: Savings
Account Number: 1214854220
Bank Name: Capitec
Branch Code: 470010
