Refilwe Gift Malope, Lesbian Activist Whose Killers Were Sentenced to Life Imprisonment in South Africa.
“No to hate crime.” Those words rang through the Polokwane High Court last week as two men were sentenced to life in prison for the brutal murder of Lesbian activist Refilwe Gift Malope, 28.
In May 9, 2022, Malope was accosted by Sergeant Thabo Moses Mokwana (42), a police officer from Benoni, and his cousin Modirela Maxwell Mokwana (45) of Motsephiri Village. Men she knew and trusted forced her into the boot of a car. Weeks later, her decomposed body was discovered in a ventilation shaft at a disused mine in Benoni.
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The court delivered life sentences for murder, plus additional concurrent terms for kidnapping and defeating the ends of justice. State advocate Patrick Magoda read the family’s victim impact statement, describing the devastating toll on loved ones — grief made even sharper by betrayal from men Malope had once trusted. Her family reminded the court of her legacy: she had “worked tirelessly to ensure members of the LGBTQI+ community were treated with dignity, integrity, and fairness.”
Deputy Ministers Andries Nel and Mmapaseka Steve Letsike praised investigators and the courts for their resolve in securing convictions, calling this “a deeply painful case” but also a step toward accountability.
For our community, Malope’s story is both heartbreaking and galvanizing. It is a reminder that safety, justice, and dignity are rights we must continue to demand — not only in South Africa, but everywhere our Lesbian+ and queer sisters live, love, and lead.
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