Man hailed as world’s first imam to say he was gay is shot dead in South Africa
Caitlin Danaher and Nimi Princewill, CNN
Mon, 17 February 2025 at 8:26 PM SGT3-min read
Imam Muhsin Hendricks is pictured preparing for the start of the Jumu'ah prayer at the Inner Circle Mosque, in Wynberg, on September 2, 2016, in Cape Town. - Rodger Bosch/AFP/Getty ImagesMore
A man hailed as the world’s first imam to say he was gay was shot dead in South Africa on Saturday, local police said, in what rights groups fear could be a hate crime.
Eastern Cape provincial police said in a statement it was investigating the death of Muhsin Hendricks, 58, in Bethelsdorp stating that the motive behind the killing was unclear.
The statement said that at around 10 a.m. Saturday, “Hendricks and a driver was inside a gold-colored VW TRoc in Haley Place, Extension 24, Bethelsdorp when a silver-colored Hilux double cab stopped in front and blocked them from driving off.”