A man was murdered in his flat in Braamfontein, Johannesburg, possibly because he was gay.
|||A man was murdered in his flat in Braamfontein, Johannesburg, possibly because he was gay, police said on Tuesday.
Sergeant Jenny Pillay said 67-year-old Joburg Theatre manager Rulov Senekal was found by a neighbour on Sunday afternoon. He was tied-up and had been strangled.
Pillay said it was too soon to say with certainty that Senekal was murdered because he was gay.
“We are busy with the investigation, but we obviously can't rule out any possibility.”
Pillay said Senekal let the two alleged murderers into his flat on Saturday night after he confirmed to security guards that they were legitimate visitors. The men allegedly stole Senekal's laptop, and fled with a black plastic bag 30 minutes later.
Police were on Tuesday afternoon still searching for the two men, and looking at closed-circuit television footage from around the building.
Senekal's murder follows similar deaths in Johannesburg and Pretoria the past two years. Seven gay men were found murdered in their homes with no signs of forced entry and little taken from each crime scene.
Gay rights, health and well-being organisation OUT's director Dawie Nel told The Star newspaper that the organisation was in discussion with pro bono lawyers in a bid to pressure authorities to act against gay murders.
“There is a perception that there is a lack of interest in the cases, in part due to the sexual orientation of the victims,” said Nel.
“Added to this, the investigating officers may have limited knowledge or awareness of the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community and online dating. We fear that someone is preying on gay men, and the authorities appear unwilling to acknowledge this.” - Sapa