Today, we enjoy a variety of rights that protect the LGBTQIA+ community and all races here in South Africa. It’s important that we remember that these rights were not just given to us. They were fought for with the sweat, blood, and tears of activists such as Simon Nkoli (pronounced “Nkodi”). Simon Nkoli was an anti-apartheid, gay rights, and HIV activist.

He came out to his family at the age of 20, and his mother responded by taking him to several traditional African healers (Sangomas). Some of whom informed her that his sexual orientation was entirely acceptable. His mother would eventually accept his sexuality and support her son throughout his life as an activist. Including when he was imprisoned and she faced harassment from the police due to this.

Simon Nkoli was imprisoned as part of the Delmas 22 where he was only charged 9 months after his arrest. The charges brought against him were treason, terrorism, and murder. Simon had an airtight alibi against the charge of murder as he had been attending a GASA (Gay Association of South Africa) meeting at the time the murder had been committed, sadly GASA, a group with mainly white members, refused to speak in defense of Simon, leaving him with the possibility of a death sentence.

Thankfully after 4 years in prison, Nkoli was acquitted and released. In the 10 years between his release and his untimely passing due to HIV/AIDS, Nkoli co-founded GLOW (Gay and Lesbian Organization of Witwatersrand). Alongside GLOW he helped to start TAP (Township AIDS Project) whose mission was to educate and assist in the prevention of AIDS in especially townships. He also founded  “Positive African Men”, a support group for Black men living with HIV in Johannesburg. Nkoli also visited a variety of other countries where he spoke out about Apartheid, Gay rights, and AIDS.

On 13 October 1990, Nkoli and fellow activist, and one of the co-founders of GLOW Beverly Palesa Ditsie organized and led the first Gay Pride march in Johannesburg and South Africa. During this march the 800 people chanted “Out of Closets— Into the Streets” and “Not the Church, Not the State— We Ourselves Decide Our Fate.” Regardless of all the progress made by Nkoli, he still did not gain access to HIV treatment, and on 30 November 1998 he fell into a coma and subsequently passed away.

In 1994 Nkoli co-founded (NCGLE) the National Coalition for Gay and Lesbian Equality. In 1995 Nkoli, along with Ian McKellan met with President Nelson Mandela in regards to NCGLE’s campaign for the inclusion of the “gay rights clause” in the South African constitution’s Bill of Rights. This meeting was successful and directly led to South Africa in 1996 becoming the first country in the entire world to explicitly prohibit discrimination against gay people in its constitution.

We would like to remember Nkoli in his own words “I am black and I am gay. I cannot separate the two parts into secondary and primary struggles. […] So, when I fight for my freedom, I must fight against both oppressors.”