South African court sentences killers of lesbian to 18 years

2012-02-02 18:15:32 GMT+7 (ICT)

CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA (BNO NEWS) -- Four South African men were sentenced to 18 years in prison on Wednesday for stabbing and stoning 19-year-old lesbian Zoliswa Nkonyana to death in 2006, local media reported on Thursday.

The men were found to have brutally killed Nkonyana because she was living openly as a lesbian. She died in February 2006 after being stoned, beaten and eventually stabbed to death.

Lubabalo Ntlabathi, Sicelo Mase, Luyanda Londzi and Mbulelo Damba were sentenced by the Khayelitsha Regional Court to 18 years in prison. Another five accused were acquitted, according to South Africa's News24 news portal.

The National Prosecuting Authority had asked for the men to be sentenced to at least 15 years each. "We asked the presiding officer to sentence the men to no less than 15 years in prison as they committed a heinous crime, killed a young woman because she was living openly as a lesbian, [and] never showed any remorse or accepted responsibility for what they have done," NPA spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said.

Activists outside the court cheered and danced when the sentence was announced via loudspeaker. They were particularly satisfied that the judge took into account the accused's reasoning for the murder, chiefly that they were intolerant of Nkonyana's choice to live openly as a lesbian.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2012-02-02

What an absolutely horrific way to die. Has left me shaking my head in disbelief.

Sometimes the death penalty is more than justified.

Sick people.