A Cape Town man has admitted to repeatedly vandalising the city’s LGBTQ+ rainbow crosswalk in De Waterkant, telling MambaOnline that he targeted the landmark to protest what he describes as “sexual immorality”.
Trevor Wood, a software developer and self-described street preacher, contacted MambaOnline to claim responsibility for defacing the crossing several times between 4 and 8 September.
He also shared a letter that he said he sent to Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis and Councillor Rob Quintas, the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Urban Mobility, explaining his actions and calling for the rainbow crossing to be removed.
Wood said he initially covered the crossing with black paint before returning on 6 September to spray-paint white text on it, including the words “Jesus is Lord” and “perversion”.
City officials quickly painted the crosswalk pink while awaiting the delivery of rainbow-coloured paint to restore it.
Wood Says Police Initially Refused to Arrest Him
Wood claims that on 8 September, he went to Cape Town Central Police Station to hand himself in, taking the empty paint tin and spray-paint cans with him as evidence. However, he said officers refused to arrest him, leaving him frustrated.
“I was annoyed that they had sent me away, so I went back to the crossing, which by then had been painted pink, and wrote ‘PERVERSION – Romans 1:24-27 – JESUS IS LORD’,” he said.
After this third act of vandalism, he waited to be arrested, “as I should have been when I handed myself in to the police earlier.”
Police did arrive and detained him, but Wood claims that instead of charging him, they sent him to Somerset Hospital for psychiatric evaluation, after which he was released on 14 September.
‘I do not hate LGBT+ people’
In his letter to the mayor, Wood admitted to defacing the crossing “to send a message that it is not right for the Mayor to promote sexual immorality in a public space on behalf of its citizens.”
Wood continued: “Could the city please repent of this wickedness and stop promoting sexual perversions and ‘gay pride’ on behalf of its citizens? This is evil and an abomination before God. Please restore the crossing to the standard treatment used for ordinary pedestrian crossings.”
Wood previously made local news headlines in August after he claimed that he was attacked while preaching in Cape Town’s Loop Street.
In an email to MambaOnline, Wood said he wanted the correct story about the vandalism to be known and insisted that “I do not hate LGBT+ people” and “I do not condone hate or unkindness towards any people or group of people.”
When asked how he reconciled this sentiment with his actions and words, he replied: “Yes, I call the acts of homosexuality perversions, evil and abominations, but that does not mean I am going to be unkind or have bad feelings towards gay people I come into contact with.”
This disconnect is a common refrain among those who espouse religiously motivated bigotry towards LGBTQ+ people, justifying harmful words and actions by citing what they believe to be Biblical condemnations of homosexuality.
Wood Rejects Attention-Seeking Claim
Wood told MambaOnline that he was prepared to pay for the repair of the crosswalk if he was sent the bill.
“I take full responsibility for the damage to the road. I will not put up any fight against paying the costs.”
When asked if he would vandalise the crosswalk again once it had been repaired, he answered: “No, I will not do it again. I did it, made my point, and it is over.”
Wood dismissed suggestions that his actions were attention-seeking, asserting: “I am not able to argue with how people perceive my actions. People have the freedom to come to their own conclusions based on what they observe or think.”
City Declines to Comment on Investigation
MambaOnline asked the City of Cape Town for comment on Wood’s apparent confession. Councillor Quintas declined to confirm whether he or the mayor had received the letter and explained: “The City will not comment on an ongoing law-enforcement matter or speculate on the status or outcome of any investigation.”
While he also did not clarify whether the City would directly seek to recover costs from Wood, Quintas condemned “the unlawful vandalism or damage of municipal property” and committed the City to ensuring “that the crossing is repaired and maintained.”
He added: “It remains a visible symbol of the City’s commitment to all communities, representing tolerance and inclusion, while also serving as a precinct marker reflecting De Waterkant’s historic and cultural connection to Cape Town’s LGBTQ+ community.”
In a statement, Cape Town Pride’s Evan Tsouroulis called for those who vandalised the rainbow crossing to be brought to justice.
“This kind of behaviour just shows why we need to have Pride and only makes the LGBTQI+ community more resolute in defending our rights, which are protected in our Constitution, whose 30th anniversary we celebrate this year,” he said.
Vandalism Sparked Wave of Online Hate
The impact of the vandalism went far beyond the physical damage to the crosswalk and those who witnessed it.
Media reports about the incidents sparked a wave of online vitriol and hate speech against LGBTQ+ people, with many social media users applauding the illegal defacement.
Wood said that he was “opposed to demeaning slurs and calling for violence” and that “this was never my intention, but only to bring my great pride in the good news of the gospel to everyone in the world.”
MambaOnline has been unable to get comment from the SAPS on the matter but will add a response if it is received.
