An Umlazi LGBTQIA+ activist was stabbed to death, allegedly because she spurned a man who proclaimed his love for her.

The murder of Pinky Shongwe, 32, on Sunday has been condemned by social welfare MEC Nonhlanla Khoza, who has deployed social workers to help her family cope with her brutal death.

Khoza said Shongwe's murder has instilled fear in the LGBTQIA+ community, where homophobic attacks have become common.

"It is alleged that Shongwe was stabbed several times by an unknown perpetrator who proposed love to her. When his proposal was turned down he allegedly stabbed her.

"It is shocking that in a country such as ours we still have so much intolerance.

"We became the first country to constitutionally protect its citizens against discrimination based on sexual orientation and the fifth in the world to legalise same sex marriages. However, we continue to see horrible incidents and attacks on people in the LGBTQIA+ community," Khoza said.

She urged people to be more tolerant, saying no-one had a right to discriminate against anyone based on sexual orientation.

"We cannot claim to have freedom while some sectors of our communities live in fear of constant attack.

"We have an increasing number of people who have been murdered because of their sexual orientation. The list of victims of homophobic violence and murder increases daily."

Shongwe will be buried in Gcilima village in the Ugu district on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast.

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