ZOLISWA NKONYANA MURDERERS SENTENCING DELAYED

In yet another legal delay, the sentencing of the four men found guilty of murdering lesbian Zoliswa Nkonyana has been postponed till next month.

Western Cape LGBT rights group Triangle Project reports that Magistrate Raadiya Whaten moved the sentencing of Lubabalo Ntlabathi, Sicelo Mase, Luyanda Londzi and Mbulelo Damba to sometime in mid-November.

A final date has yet to be announced.

The men were earlier this month found guilty of stoning and stabbing 19-year-old Nkonyana to death in 2006 in Khayelitsha, at least in part because she was a lesbian.

The latest delay is due to reports from the accused’s probation officers not being submitted in time. Of the four reports required, only two have been received to date.

Triangle Project said that it “will continue to work with the State Prosecutor to ensure that expert evidence is provided to secure the maximum sentence with regards to sexual orientation being a motivating factor in this brutal and gruesome homophobic murder”.

The trial of the men has taken more than five years and has been postponed more than 40 times. Five of the nine men originally tried for the murder were acquitted due to lack of evidence.