Progress is slow in the murder case of queer Cape Town teenager Kwakhanya Mhlanganisi. After multiple postponements, both suspects appeared in court on Thursday to request leave to apply for bail as well as private lawyers. The Khayelitsha Magistrates’ Court also announced the possible transfer of the case to a higher court.
The 16-year-old Mhlanganisi was brutally murdered in a suspected hate crime in Khayelitsha on the night of the 3rd of December 2025, when he was beaten and set alight by two individuals.
News of the suspects’ applications was met with frustration from Mhlanganisi’s family, loved ones, community members and civil society organisations present at the hearing.
The suspects had previously declined to seek bail at the last hearing on the 15th of January, and the case was postponed for nearly four months for further investigation.
Family and Activists Frustrated by Ongoing Delays
The matter has suffered from continued delays. The case was initially postponed in early December 2025 due to one of the suspects turning 18, allowing him to be tried as an adult. The case was then postponed shortly after for a second time to allow for further investigation, then postponed for a third time, alarmingly, due to the case docket being misplaced.
The seeming lack of urgency from the court is being felt by activists on the ground. Liyana Quthu of the Desmond Tutu Health Foundation LGBT+ Health Division shared with MambaOnline, “I continue to question justice as a process. Whose process is it for? Does it serve those who have endured the pain? We’re talking about a family here who has lost a child. I really question, as the LGBTQ+ community, do our lives matter in this society? Or are we just disposable bodies?”
The case has been postponed for a fifth time, with the alleged killers scheduled to appear in court again on the 19th of May 2026.
Court Intends Moving Case to High Court
The court communicated its intent to escalate the case from the Khayelitsha Magistrates’ Court to the Cape Town High Court due to the severity of the crime exceeding the Magistrate’s jurisdiction. The transfer has yet to be finalised and was met with some concerns from community activists.
In an address to the crowd gathered outside the court, Anele Ligunya of Free Gender expressed concerns over the complications of transferring files and evidence from one court to another, recalling the proceedings of the 2020 hate crime case of Liyabona Mabishi, who was also sixteen at the time of her murder. That matter yet to proceed to trial after multiple delays and movement between courts.
“There’s this fear because the case of Liyabona, it actually started here [Khayelitsha Magistrates’ Court] and then ended up going there [Cape Town High Court], and we ended up losing the case.”
Activists Vow to Keep Fighting for Justice
Despite the unease over the progress in the case, activists, community members and loved ones remain committed to seeing justice for Mhlanganisi.
Anderson Ntsangoni of Khulani Khayelitsha Queer Hub told MambaOnline, “I know that I’m supposed to feel demotivated [by the delays], but I’m not. I know we are going to get another date, but we will be here. Kwakhanya was one of our members, so we will be here showing the parents support. We will stay fighting until we get to where we want to be.”
