THE killings of a transgender person and a gay man in East London have raised fears of hate crimes surfacing.

Transgender Vuyisa "Norizana" Dayisi, 28, was found dead near her Duncan Village home early on July 15. Her pants had been pulled down and torn, her genitals were exposed and she had a blow to the forehead.

A few days later, not far from where Dayisi's body had been found, a gay man known as Thembile was also found dead.

He was shot in the head and his cellphone and wallet were still on him when the body was discovered.

Residents said Thembile was new to the area.

Police spokesman Captain Stephen Marais confirmed both killings, but was not able to provide any further details.

The killing of a transgender, and now a gay man, has sparked fears within the community that it could have been hate crimes.

Sonwabiso Mseleni, 22, a transgender and a close friend of Dayisi's, said there was a lot of sexual intolerance in the community and within law enforcement.

Mseleni spoke of instances where they had been cornered and asked why they were behaving like "iinkazana" (mistresses).

Lobby groups in East London said the Dayisi case was a typical hate crime.