Simon Tseko Nkoli (26 November 1957 – 30 November 1998) was an anti-apartheid,

gay rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Notably, , 3 ...

and

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

activist in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. Nkoli was born in

Soweto Soweto () is a township of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for ''South Western Townships''. Formerly a s ...

in a

seSotho Sotho () or Sesotho () or Southern Sotho is a Southern Bantu language of the Sotho–Tswana ("S.30") group, spoken primarily by the Basotho in Lesotho, where it is the national and official language; South Africa (particularly the Free Sta ...

-speaking family. Nkoli became a youth activist against apartheid, joining the Congress of South African Students (COSAS) and with the United Democratic Front.

Activism

After joining COSAS in 1980, Nkoli became secretary for the Transvaal division of the group. Despite some resistance from within COSAS, he was allowed keep this position after his sexuality was revealed to the group. In 1983, he joined the mainly white Gay Association of South Africa (GASA). GASA maintained that it was "apolitical", and refused to support Nkoli's activism on race-related issues. In a 1985 letter sent from prison after his arrest Nkoli told his partner, Roy Shepherd, that "GASA has done nothing for me since I was arrested", though he wrote in the same letter that "some individual members of GASA are seeing me", and that "I will remain a member of Gasa always". The following year, he wrote that he was "absolutely mad to read about me being arrested on 'irrelevant' issues to gay related matters", and increasingly frustrated at a lack of support from GASA. In April 1987, he wrote: "I am not interested in Gasa at all. In fact I am no longer a member of Gasa – or I shall not be a member of Gasa again." Although some sources claim that Nkoli was ejected from GASA after his arrest and trial. He later formed the Saturday Group, the first black gay group in Africa. Nkoli spoke at rallies in support of rent-boycotts in the

Vaal The Vaal River ( ; Khoemana: ) is the largest tributary of the Orange River in South Africa. The river has its source near Breyten in Mpumalanga province, east of Johannesburg and about north of Ermelo and only about from the Indian Ocean. I ...

townships and in 1984 he was arrested and faced the

death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

for

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

with twenty-one other political leaders in the

Delmas Treason Trial The Delmas Treason Trial (1985–1988) in South Africa was the prosecution of 22 anti-apartheid activists under security laws, with the intention of suppressing the United Democratic Front (UDF).Gerhard, Gail"Trial by Color" ''New York Times ...

, including

Popo Molefe Popo Simon Molefe (born 26 April 1952 in Sophiatown, Johannesburg) is a businessman and former politician from South Africa. Early life One of eight children, Molefe was the son of a laborer and a domestic worker, though he was raised largely by ...

and

Patrick Lekota Mosiuoa Gerard Patrick Lekota (born 13 August 1948) is a South African politician, who currently serves as the President and Leader of the Congress of the People since 16 December 2008. Previously as a member of the African National Congress, ...

, collectively known as the Delmas 22. By

coming out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...

while a prisoner, he helped change the attitude of the

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a Social democracy, social-democratic political party in Republic of South Africa, South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when ...

to gay rights. He was acquitted and released from prison in 1988. He founded the Gay and Lesbian Organisation of the Witwatersrand (GLOW) in 1988. Along with LGBT activist,

Beverley Palesa Ditsie Beverley Palesa Ditsie (born 1971) is a South African lesbian activist, artist, and filmmaker. Ditsie is one of the founders of the gay rights organization Gay and Lesbian Organization of Witwatersrand. In speaking about the importance of consid ...

, he organised the first

pride parade in South Africa There have been pride parades in South Africa celebrating LGBT pride since 1990. South African pride parades were historically used for political advocacy protesting against legal discrimination against LGBT people, and for the celebration of ...

held in 1990. He travelled widely and was given several human rights awards in Europe and North America. He was a member of

International Lesbian and Gay Association The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) is an organization who is committed to advancing human rights to all people, disregarding gender identity, sex characteristics and expression. ILGA participates in a ...

board, representing the African region. Nkoli was one of the first gay activists to meet with President

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist who served as the President of South Africa, first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1 ...

in 1994. He helped in the campaign for the inclusion of protection from discrimination in the Bill of Rights in the 1994

South African constitution The Constitution of South Africa is the supreme law of the Republic of South Africa. It provides the legal foundation for the existence of the republic, it sets out the rights and duties of its citizens, and defines the structure of the Govern ...

and for the repeal of the sodomy law, which happened in May 1998 in his last months. After becoming one of the first publicly

HIV-positive The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause AIDS, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the ...

African gay men, he initiated the Positive African Men group based in central

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

. He had been infected with HIV for around 12 years, and had been seriously ill, on and off, for the last four. He died of

in 1998 in

Personal life

Nkoli was one of four children. Although he was born in

, his parents separated early in his life, and Nkoli was sent to live with his grandparents on a farm in the

Orange Free State The Orange Free State ( nl, Oranje Vrijstaat; af, Oranje-Vrystaat;) was an independent Boer sovereign republic under British suzerainty in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, which ceased to exist after it was defeat ...

. He lived there for several years before returning to live with his mother in

Sebokeng Sebokeng () locally called Zweni by residents, is a middle-class township in the Emfuleni Local Municipality in southern Gauteng, South Africa near the industrial cities of Vanderbijlpark and Vereeniging. Other neighboring townships include Evaton ...

. Nkoli met his partner, Roy Shepherd, at the age of 19. He later recalled meeting him at the GCC, or Gay Christian Community. A collection of their letters, written during Nkoli's trial and imprisonment, was published as part of the

GALA Gala may refer to: Music * ''Gala'' (album), a 1990 album by the English alternative rock band Lush *''Gala – The Collection'', a 2016 album by Sarah Brightman *GALA Choruses, an association of LGBT choral groups *''Gala'', a 1986 album by Th ...

Queer Archive under the title ''Till the Time of Trial: The Prison Letters of Simon Nkoli''. Excerpts from these letters were also published in the book ''Yes, I Am!: Writing by South African Gay Men''.

Honours

There is a Simon Nkoli Day in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

. He opened the first

Gay Games The Gay Games is a worldwide sport and cultural event that promotes acceptance of sexual diversity, featuring lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) athletes, artists and other individuals. Founded as the Gay Olympics, it was starte ...

in New York and was made a

freeman Freeman, free men, or variant, may refer to: * a member of the Third Estate in medieval society (commoners), see estates of the realm * Freeman, an apprentice who has been granted freedom of the company, was a rank within Livery companies * Free ...

of that city by mayor

David Dinkins David Norman Dinkins (July 10, 1927 – November 23, 2020) was an American politician, lawyer, and author who served as the 106th mayor of New York City from 1990 to 1993. He was the first African American to hold the office. Before enterin ...

. In 1996 Nkoli was given the Stonewall Award in the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. Canadian filmmaker

John Greyson John Greyson (born March 13, 1960) is a Canadian director, writer, video artist, producer, and political activist, whose work frequently deals with queer characters and themes. He was part of a loosely-affiliated group of filmmakers to emerge in ...

made a short film about Nkoli titled ''A Moffie Called Simon'' in 1987. Nkoli was the subject of Robert Colman's 2003 play, "Your Loving Simon" and Beverley Ditsie's 2002 film "Simon & I". John Greyson's 2009 film ''Fig Trees'', a hybrid documentary/opera includes reference to Nkoli's activism. In addition, Nkoli's account of coming out as a black gay activist in South Africa is included as a chapter in Mark Gevisser's and

Edwin Cameron Edwin Cameron SCOB (born 15 February 1953 in Pretoria) is a retired judge who served as a Justice of the Constitutional Court of South Africa. He is well known for his HIV/AIDS and gay-rights activism and was hailed by Nelson Mandela as "one ...

's ''Defiant Desire: Gay and Lesbian Lives in South Africa'' (1994) pages 249–257.

References

* Sunday Times, South Africa - Sunday, 6 December 1998 * Excerpts from: Aldrich R. & Wotherspoon G., Who's Who in Contemporary Gay and Lesbian History, from WWII to Present Day, Routledge, London, 2001

External links

Biography

Simon and I - Film by Beverley Palesa Ditsie
at th
IMDb

groups.msn.com

Activism

Personal life

Honours

References

External links

See also