SA Mourns After Openly Gay Imam Moegsien Hendricks Assassinated in Eastern Cape

• South Africans mourned the murder of openly gay imam Moegsien Hendricks
• Hendricks was performing a marriage ceremony between two lesbian Muslim couples when he was shot and killed in the Eastern Cape
• Nertizrns expressed sadness that he was killed for his orientation and called out those who committed the horrific crime

Tebogo Mokwena, a Briefly News current affairs journalist in Johannesburg, South Africa, covered criminal activities, police investigations, police shootouts and court cases at Daily Sun for over three years.

EASTERN CAPE — Openly gay Imam Moegsien Hendricks was assassinated in the Eastern Cape on 15 February 2025 while officiating a lesbian Muslim wedding. South Africans slammed the perpetrators of the hate crime.

What happened to Moegsien Hendricks?

According to IOL, Hendricks was invited to officiate over and marry a lesbian couple in Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape. A Muslim was marrying a non-muslim, and the imams in the Eastern Cape refused to marry them. The couple then enlisted the services of Hendricks, who agreed to do the wedding. However, while he was officiating, he was shot and killed at the wedding.

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Similar brutal murders

• A Centurion couple was brutally murdered by a man pretending to be interested in buying their home in January
• A KwaZulu-Natal gogo was shot 20 times and killed on 11 February
• A Limpopo member of the South African Police Service was arrested for allegedly shooting and killing her son and his girlfriend

South Africans heartbroken

Netizens commenting on IOL's Facebook page were hurt by the death.

Craig Thomas Fortuin said:

"Someone once said that if your religion requires you to kill people, you need a new religion."

Eugene Breukelman said:

"The only conversation we should be having here is about the shocking state of crime in our country and the sad loss of yet another life!"

Shaynaaz Adam Ramdhani said:

"May the perpetrators be brought to book and face the full might of the law. There is absolutely no justification for this heinous deed."

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Gadija Elloker said:

"He was my Muslim school teacher. He was always kind, and thoughtful and never raised his voice."

Hassam Valsadia said:

"He was an erudite scholar of religion. May Almighty Allah grant him Jannah Insha'Allah."

Witness shot and killed outside Lenasiacourt

In a related article, Briefly News reported that a witness was shot and killed outside of the Lenasia Magistrates Court in January. He was declared dead on the scene.

The man was on his way to testify for a case when an unidentified man approached him, opened fire and fled the scene. South Africans questioned why witnesses were obliged to testify in person.

Source: Briefly News