19 June 2026
The Equality Court has found traditional leader and “influencer” Ngizwe Mchunu guilty of hate speech, harassment and discrimination against gay, lesbian and transgender people. Illustration: Bronwyn Webb
Controversial traditional leader and “influencer” Ngizwe Mchunu has been found guilty of hate speech, harassment and discrimination against gay, lesbian and transgender people by the Equality Court, sitting in Johannesburg.
The finding relates to 12 videos and a flyer he posted on his Facebook page between September and October 2025.
Judge Gregory Wright, on Friday, granted a final interdict, banning him from making more social media posts which directly or unfairly discriminates against any LGBTQIA+ person or community.
Mchunu is also “permanently prohibited” from instigating, organising, leading or participating in any march or demonstration which directly or indirectly discriminates against that community.
Within five days, he has to unconditionally apologise to the community on his Facebook page and the post should be pinned to the top for three months.
Wright also ordered Mchunu to do 20 hours of human rights sensitisation training and pay R250,000 to either Transhope or the Hate Crime Working Group, which laid the complaint against him through the South African Human Rights Commission.
Transhope was established in 2017 to support transgender people in KwaZulu-Natal. The Hate Crime Working Group is a civil society network.
In October 2025, the groups obtained an ex parte (without notice) interim interdict against Mchunu, preventing him from organising an anti-LGBT+ march or demonstration in Kwa Mai Mai in Johannesburg.
He was also ordered to remove offensive material from his online platforms but did not comply. The posts referred to gay people as izitabane (which is derogatory slur) and dogs, and said faggots deserved to be in jail or to die. He accused them of grooming children and corrupting Zulu culture. He suggested that the protest was necessary to protect humanity.
His posts were apparently instigated by the public announcement by two men, dressed in traditional Zulu garb, that they intended to marry.
The judge said Mchunu had been served with the interdict papers but had “declined every opportunity” to file opposing papers or participate in court proceedings.
“The statements are, quite obviously, hate speech, harassment and unfair discrimination under the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act,” he said.
“He has acted against the Constitution and has insulted and threatened persons who enjoy Constitutional rights.”
In finalising the interdict, the judge ordered Mchunu to pay the costs of the application.
