Men sentenced for lesbian murder
Four South African men have been sentenced to 18 years in jail for stabbing and stoning a 19-year-old lesbian to death in 2006.
The court found that the men killed Zoliswa Nkonyana (pictured) because she was living openly as a lesbian, BBC News reported.
There were celebrations outside the court in Cape Town following the sentencing.
The South African constitution protects people on the grounds of sexual orientation but homophobia is widespread in the country, and lesbians are often subjected to ‘corrective rape’ by men who believe it will cure them of their homosexuality.
The sentencing was reported as groundbreaking because of its length and the fact that the magistrate concluded that Nkonyana was killed for being a lesbian.
Local activists have been calling for the introduction of hate crimes laws.
