Police are investigating reports a 20-year-old gay man has been gang raped by five men and left in a burning room in a South African housing development, in an apparent homophobic hate crime. Residents say they saw flames coming from a vacant house in the North Cape’s Lerato Park in the early hours of Sunday morning. “Members of the community came with buckets of water and as we approached the second floor of the house, where the flames were coming from, a young man came running down the stairs. He wanted to run away but we calmed him,” a local woman has told IOL News. “He said that five men had raped him because he was a homosexual. They then tried to kill him by setting fire to a mattress, apparently on which they raped him. He managed to escape. Fortunately only his shoes got burned,” the woman said. Police are investigating and no arrests have yet been made. A protest was quickly held outside a police station on Monday. Protestors taped their mouths shut, which IOL News says was “a symbolic gesture signifying the silence in the Province regarding violent attacks against LGBTI persons and also those whose voices were taken away by the incompetence of those responsible for apprehending these attackers.” The leader of the opposition in the Northern Cape Andrew Louw told those gathered the area has become a “homophobic province” because it is run by a “homophobic government.” “The President and provincial leaders need to give an indication of their commitment in ensuring that all South Africans are able to live their lives free from fear of discrimination or violence. Unfortunately, President Zuma has in the past shown himself to be prejudiced against homosexuals. “South Africa also chose to remain silent while lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex rights have been under attack in Nigeria, Uganda and other countries worldwide. “This quiet diplomacy must be brought to an end and we must ensure that all human rights are maintained.”
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Wednesday, 2nd April 2014 - 9:21am