Two days before her brutal murder, proudly transgender woman Joan Thabeng posted the lyrics to Betty Wright’s Tonight is the Night on her Facebook wall.
“Tonight is the night / That you make me a woman...”
For many of Thabeng’s friends, that final digital footprint would be the last words they would see from her, after her battered body was discovered on a street in Mohlakeng, Randfontein.
Her injuries appeared to have shown that she was dragged through the streets, though it’s unclear if she was still alive as her assailant or assailants moved her through the area.
Thabeng had apparently been on the way to visit her boyfriend, after having left a friend’s home on the evening of November 11. It’s understood she never made it to his house.
Now, three weeks later, human rights NGO, Access Chapter 2, has agreed to help Thabeng’s grieving family - who have apparently given up hope that police will ensure that her killers will be brought to justice.
The incident has also prompted the NGO to ask police to properly investigate hate crimes against transgender and other LGBTI people.
According to Access Chapter 2 spokesperson, Sidwell Lengatsa, a suspect has been identified by police, but an arrest has yet to be made.
“The identified suspect has denied knowing the deceased despite testimony from family and friends confirming that the deceased and the suspect knew each other.
"The suspect has a criminal record of hate crime and is well known for this in the community. No arrest has been made,” he said through a statement.
“The deceased’s family is apprehensive about the justice system on the basis that they are from an underprivileged background. The deceased was the breadwinner. The case has brought to light many of the challenges faced by LGBTI people including gender-based violence, hate crime and a lack of faith in the justice system,” he added.
Lengatsa cited a study by the Love Not Hate Campaign that found that murders are more common in the lower living standards measure (LSM) areas and among the black community.
“Almost half of the black LGBTs who participated (total of 2 130) in the survey knew of a murder of an LGBTI person motivated by hate. Confidence in the justice system is low and very few incidents of discrimination are reported to the police despite their serious nature. This is a serious concern,” he said.
This coming week, the organisation will be meeting with the Randfontein police to ensure the investigation is still on track, though it was still unclear why if a suspect had been identified, no arrest had been made.
One of Thabeng’s close friends, chairperson of NGO, Action for Social Justice, Thabiso Mogapi wa Tsotetsi, confirmed that Thabeng had always identified as a woman.
“She always said, ‘I am not gay, I am a woman’. Hence she was always in the company of women wherever she was going, even for clubbing,” he told gay lifestyle website, Mambaonline.com.
The website reported that Thabeng was buried on November 18, following a memorial service on November 16, attended by friends, family and LGBTI activists.
Access Chapter 2 is currently providing psychosocial support to Thabeng’s family.