Zorena Jantze
THE murder of Gurney Elrich Uirab over the past weekend has sent shockwaves through the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) community, as the community members state that the deceased died shortly after allegedly responding to homophobic remarks.
According to a report provided in the weekend crime bulletin, it is alleged that the incident of murder happened in the Soweto location in Tsumeb on Saturday 23 March 2024, at around 01:30. Described by close family as a gentle giant, a person who liked peace and was always friendly, Uirab allegedly lay at the spot where he was stabbed for a long time and lost a lot of blood before police came to his rescue.
It is alleged that the deceased Uirab met with the suspect near the suspect’s house in the street where they were seen arguing with one another. According to the police report, it was not known what the deceased and the suspect were arguing about and what caused the argument in which the suspect stabbed the deceased in the stomach with an unknown object.
The police were called to the scene and took the victim to the hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. The police report further indicated that the 27-year-old Namibian suspect in the matter has been arrested.
Omar van Reenan, Equal Rights Namibia’s representative, has however shed further light beyond the police report, explaining that the organization has received information from safety and security investigators within the community who spoke to family and friends, who had knowledge of Gurney’s whereabouts on the fateful day. Van Reenan added that according to eyewitness reports from the incident, the deceased was allegedly followed by three suspects who uttered homophobic slurs towards him. Van Reenan added that the deceased stood up for himself and was stabbed by one of the suspects in response.
“Gurney was supposed to be here, if queers stand up for themselves is that how it is? This new anti-gay bill has given a license to hate and a license to kill,” Van Reenan said.
Van Reenan added that since the passing of the bill in the National Assembly and the National Council in 2023, five members of the LGBTQ community have been murdered. “We are asking ourselves, how many more, and am I next.” Van Reenan said.
Also commenting on the matter, Friedel Dausab from the Positive Vibes organisation said that the LGBTQ community is seeing the results of hateful words uttered by MPs. “One of the important things to mention is that, for those two days in parliament there was a rampant dehumanization of LGBTQ people. Words like Satanists and Demonic were used. Like these LGBTQ people are not citizens, like they are not brothers and sisters, like they do not deserve respect. These were words used by MPs, the only MP we can maybe absolve is Calle Schlettwein, the agriculture minister, who stood up for constitutional values. As far as the movement is concerned, all the other MPs are oath breakers. They did not respect the constitution or the separation of powers,” Dausab said.
