A planned protest at the Cape Town Pride festival was averted yesterday after organisers and members of a group of protesters decided to hold 15 minutes of silence in honour of two lesbians who were killed recently.

The protesters arrived at the event to demonstrate their dissatisfaction with a “lack of inclusivity” and diversity in the event.

The director of Outreach Africa which organises the Cape Town Pride festival, Tommy Patterson, confirmed the meeting that took place while the festival was under way.

“It seems that there was miscommunication but we invited them to join the festival and agreed to their request for 15-minutes of silence in honour of the lesbians who were victims of hate crime.

“It’s difficult to represent every member of the LGBT community. There are 26 NGOs that we work with. We are a gay community, irrespective of colour, age and we should all work as one,” he added.

But chairperson of Free Gender, Funeka Soldaat, said the choice of this year’s theme, Love Happens Here, was “insenstiive, disgusting and misleading” as the gay community was still reeling from the effects of hate crimes.

The 10-day event, which started on February 23 and ended yesterday, provides a platform for the LGBT+ community to raise awareness of issues pertaining to them and to campaign for the freedoms that will allow them to live their lives on an equal footing. Read more via IOL