JOHANNESBURG – Violence in South Africa came under the microscope, after the killing of Clement Hadebe, a gay man who was reportedly shot nine times by a suitor who thought he was a woman when they hooked up at a bar.
Hadebe (29) was found with nine gunshot wounds at a BnB in Johannesburg in the early hours of Monday morning.
He had reportedly met his would-be killer at KwaMai Mai Market in downtown Johannesburg, last Sunday. The two had hit it off, with the man reportedly buying alcohol for Hadebe and a friend.
The friend reportedly encouraged him to confess that he was a man, advice which Hadebe did not follow.
“They offered to buy us drinks. We couldn’t say no to free booze,” the friend told ZiMoja.
“I could tell that the guy is straight, but Hadebe just played along. When he asked Hadebe to go home with him, I again called him to the side and begged him to reveal his sexuality, but he brushed me off,” he said.
Another friend told ZiMoja that they believe that the man killed Hadebe after he realised that he was gay.
“The guy spent a lot of money on us, and he was sure that he took a woman home. He even booked a room at a bed and breakfast place, we thought that he was straight,” the friend said.
“But that did not give him the right to kill. He could have just let him go. What he did is horrible. I pray that he rots in jail for this horrific crime. Hadebe was a lovely person who loved life; he did not deserve this,” he said.
Gauteng SAPS spokesperson Colonel Noxolo Kweza confirmed that police were now investigating a case of murder.
“A murder docket is being investigated after a man was shot and killed on Monday,” she said.
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