South Africa: Nkonyana’s case kick-starts as witnesses take stand

The murder trial of Zoliswa Nkonyana was finally heard last Friday at the Khayelitsha Regional Court following an array of postponements. The trial began last week Friday, 5 December, three years after the brutal murder of this Khyelitsha lesbian, killed because of her sexual orientation. Phindiswa Magxala, a witness who was present on the day of Nkonyana’s murder, told the court how, on 4 February 2006, they were attacked by more than 14 people, four of whom were women, in front of Nkonyana’s step father Gcinumuzi Madondo just meters away from her home.