Family of a young gay man say they want justice after he was killed “for not being a girl”.
Unathi Weba was allegedly strangled by a man who claimed he was not aware that the victim was gay when he took him home.
The 23-year-old was murdered in the early hours of last Monday, 9 May, at the Island informal settlement in Makhaza, Khayelitsha.
The suspect, Siwaphiwe Paul, 27, was arrested after he handed himself over to the police.
Unathi’s uncle Mziwonke Mnothoza says he last saw the deceased the previous night.
“I told him to lock the gate and I thought he went and then came back to sleep,” Mziwonke tells the Daily Voice.
“I asked him not to go anywhere because I could see that he had had enough to drink and I wanted him to be at home. I fell asleep, thinking that we were all inside our home.”
He explains that around 2.30am, his neighbours were shouting outside his yard.
“They told me that Unathi’s body was found inside someone’s shack and we were confused. We found out that the shack was only a few metres from us.”
The heartbroken uncle tells the Daily Voice that when he got to the suspect’s home, he found Unathi’s body on the floor next to the bed.
“He was on his knees with his body bent backwards, we didn’t see any wounds. What shocked me the most is that Unathi was only wearing his underwear.”
He says when he asked the suspect what happened, he lied.
“He told me that Unathi got there in his underwear and seemed to be in distress, and that he was only trying to help him but he died there.
“I knew that was a lie, and the community members interrogated him while I went to call the police.”
Mziwonke says the suspect’s cousin had alerted residents.
“After the murder, he went to his relative and borrowed a wheelbarrow or a wheelie bin.
“And then he confessed that he murdered someone and wanted to get rid of the body.
“The cousin refused and told him to tell the neighbours what he had done and he did.
“He also confessed at the police station and said that he strangled Unathi.
“I understand that the reason he murdered Unathi was because of his sexuality, he said that he didn’t know that Unathi was gay, (but that) is a lie, he was visibly gay and everyone knew Unathi.”
Harare police spokesman Captain Siyabulela Vukubi says the 27-year-old suspect will appear in Khayelitsha Magistrates Court.
"The incident happened last Monday where a 23-year-old man was killed. The suspect handed himself over to the police.
“He appeared in court and his case was postponed to (today).”
mandilakhe.tshwete@inl.co.za