South Africa
Johannesburg Pride marches ahead amid boycott calls and death threats─── ZENANDE MPAME 15:33 Wed, 22 Oct 2025
Johannesburg Pride will go ahead on Saturday (25/10) at Sandton Central, despite calls to boycott the event.
Now in its 36th year, the event will celebrate and champion lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, and intersex (LGBTQI+) rights. This annual event brings together thousands of individuals to march in solidarity, celebrate diversity, and honour the progress made towards equality, said Johannesburg Pride founder and director Kaye Ally.
On Sunday (19/10), videos surfaced online from organisations openly calling for the death of LGBTQI+ individuals. Johannesburg Pride has called on the South African Human Rights Commission to urgently investigate the nature and origin of the attacks, as they constitute both hate speech and a threat to the safety and constitutional rights of LGBTQ+ South Africans.
“The recent call to boycott Johannesburg Pride is deeply concerning, not only for its misinformation, but for the groups and organisations endorsing it,” said Ally.
“Johannesburg Pride stands for queer visibility and self-determination. We will not be used as pawns in anybody else’s political debate. As a gay Muslim, I’ve witnessed how … queer Muslims have been ostracised and threatened by extremist rhetoric.
“Speaking out as a queer Muslim in South Africa still carries real risk, but Pride has been my life’s work for fifteen years, and I will not be silenced by those who walked away decades ago. As the organising committee, our mandate is clear: to promote visibility, education, and awareness around the lived realities of LGBTQ+ people across Africa.”
Johannesburg Pride and Pride of Africa are at the forefront of the LGBTQ+ movement in Africa, championing inclusivity, equality, and visibility. Together, they form a platform that unites, empowers, and uplifts the diverse LGBTQ+ community across the continent, said Ally.
Pride of Africa serves as an umbrella brand that amplifies the voices of LGBTQ+ initiatives across Africa. The platform goes beyond celebration; it provides resources, support networks, and advocacy efforts that address the unique challenges faced by the LGBTQ+ community.
“It is alarming that those who claim to stand for justice have aligned themselves with ideologies and movements that criminalise and persecute queer people across Africa and beyond,” said Ally. “Johannesburg Pride stands for African queer visibility and the unrelenting fight for our right to exist freely.”
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