A Khayelitsha lesbian has died after she was apparently assaulted in a shebeen for calling someone a laaitie.
Lulama Mvandaba, 38, had confronted and accused someone of taking her beer from the table.
The man and his friends then allegedly beat her up and then burnt her breast.
This is the third gay woman to be murdered in Khayelitsha in the past three months.
Lulama’s girlfriend Caroline Ngcawe, 57, says her body was found in her Mpolweni home six days after the incident on Friday morning.
“She went with a friend to the shebeen and bought two beers,” says Caroline.
“A guy went to their table and took a beer and she said: ‘No, Kwedini (laaitie in IsiXhosa), bring that beer back’.
“He did but I guess he didn’t like being called that, especially by a woman, and everyone in the area knew that is how she spoke, but I understand that he is not from Mpolweni.”
Caroline says minutes later, people were shouting outside the drinking house.
“Her friend was dancing inside when she heard the noise and she went out to check and she saw Lulama lying in the street being assaulted.
“Lulama ran away, but she apparently took the wrong direction, I’m not sure if she was beaten up again after she left.
“Her right breast was burnt when she was hit with burning wood.”
Caroline says she received a call from Lulama’s neighbours who were worried when they had not seen her.
“She told me she would come to my place on Monday but she never did.
“And on Thursday, her neighbours called me and told me that they had not seen her.
“There was apparently a smell coming from the house but she thought it was a rat.
“Then on Friday morning, the worried neighbours broke the window in her bedroom and saw her body.
“The top half of her body was hanging off the bed as if she had been trying to get out of bed but she didn’t manage.
“Her face was swollen and her right breast was huge and had blisters.
“They called the ambulance and the paramedics declared her dead but they didn’t do any investigation.
“I strongly feel that she died from the injuries she sustained because she was fine before then.”
SAPS’ Nosiphiwo Mntengwane says an inquest has been opened: “The post-mortem will determine the cause of death.”
On 24 March 16-year-old Liyabona Mabishi was stabbed 13 times after she accidentally bumped into a group of men.
And on 6 May, Phelokazi Ndlwana, 23, was drinking at a shebeen when she was stabbed by a parolee she had beef with before he went to jail in December.
