A gay woman is dead after being raped and strangled in South Africa.

Gift Makau, 18, was found dead in Ventersdorp, a town in the north west province on Friday (15 August).

She had been raped and strangled with wire and a shoelace. A running hose had been forced into her mouth.

‘[Gift] had never been abused or heckled in the community,’ her cousin, Lucky Gaorongqe, told South Africa Times.

‘Her mother is not coping at all, but we’re trying – and people have been supportive.’

A 24-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the rape and murder and will appear in the Ventersdorp Magistrate’s Court today (18 August).

Jabu Pereira, director of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex human rights organisation Iranti-org, said:

‘These heinous crimes have to end. Our government must invest in public education programmes aimed at changing public attitudes.’