Cape Town - Nyanga residents and the family of slain 22-year-old queer woman Ntsiki Tyatyeka are furious as Vuyisile Madikane, who was convicted of her murder, is back in the area.
Tyatyeka was murdered in an alleged hate crime and Madikane was arrested in 2012 after her remains were found at his house in a wheelie bin.
She had been reported missing for more than a year.
Madikane was convicted and sentenced to 15 years behind bars. He was released from prison in September last year.
Tyatyeka’s sister Yonela said before Madikane was released from prison he tried contacting her, which she did not appreciate.
“In 2018 he sent me an inbox via Facebook and said that he’s a changed man. When I heard that he was released from prison, I felt that South Africa’s justice system failed all of us, every queer that still lives in that community.
“After he was released, homophobia has struck again in Nyanga.
“First he was sentenced for culpable homicide, meaning he killed her unintentionally.
“He was never charged for trying to defeat the ends of justice, he was only charged for one thing then he was released, we will never get to see Ntsiki again.
“It's difficult for my mom and family to forgive him because he was my sister's close friend and he was the one helping us look for her when she disappeared,” she said.
Phelokazi Ndlwana and 22-year-old Lonwabo Jack became the latest openly members of the LGBTQIA+ community to have been murdered in recent weeks.
Community activist Thulani Pike said they were shocked when they learned about his release.
“We feel that the justice system has failed the community of Nyanga and is not sending a strong message to perpetrators of the same crime. To do that gruesome killing and kidnap a corpse remains for more than a year and he served less than 10 years shows that there is no justice system in this country. He got parole and the family and community were not contacted or informed about his parole,” he said.
The National Prosecuting Authority referred questions to the Department of Correctional Services (DCS).
DCS spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo said: “Before we release our parolees we ensure that they are rehabilitated so that they can face the community where they have committed an act of crime. There are different programmes that we make sure they attend before their release.
“When the parolees are released from prison we don't want them to feel vulnerable and exclude them from society, and move them to a different area, but he would rather return to that community where he is already known and he can show the community that he has been rehabilitated.”