DURBAN, South Africa — Two men married on Saturday in a rare South African gay wedding in KwaDukuza on Saturday, in what has been described as the town’s first same-sex union.

Tshepo Modisane and Thoba Sithole, both 27, walked down the aisle in front of 200 guests at the Stanger Siva Sungam community hall, reported the Independent Online.

Thoba, a Joburg-based IT specialist, is from Shakaville, KwaDukuza and Tshepo an audit manager at PwC. They have known each other for years and dated on and off, before stabilizing their relationship. Now that they are wedded, they will take on the double-barrelled surname of Sithole-Modisane. The couple appeared to enjoy the support from the community, family and friends. […] The couple are reportedly planning to have children through a surrogate. “Family is important to us and that is the number one reason why we want to have children,” said Thoba.

eNews Channel Africa has this video report:

The couple was profiled in February by Mamba Online, and acknowledged there is a lack of openly gay role models in South Africa, especially among people of color.

“People are still ashamed because the vast majority of the black community is not accepting of being a homosexual. They see it as largely being a ‘Western trend’ that is in fashion lately,” said Tshepo.

“If our action of getting married and being bold and proud about it is emulated by more members of the LGBTI community who are black, then so be it. If people are inspired by our love and actions and want to do the same to follow in our footsteps then we don’t mind being labelled as ‘role models’ in the LGBTI community.”

South Africa outlaws discrimination based on sexual orientation, and in December 2006, South Africa became the fifth country in the world, and the first in Africa, to legalize same-sex marriage.