Clemmy Hadebe
Age 2210 Aug 2024
Johannesburg, Gauteng (South Africa)
Shot
TDoR list ref: tgeu/tdor2024/10-Aug-2024/Clemmy Hadebe
Clemmy was shot in the street while she was walking home.
A friend of [Clemmy] Hadebe, a transgender woman recently murdered in Johannesburg, has spoken out to correct what they describe as inaccurate media reports about the circumstances of her death.
The friend, identified as Sasha, spoke to MambaOnline about the tragic night [Clemmy] was shot multiple times. Sasha confirmed that [Clemmy] was 22-years-old, identified as a trans woman, and had recently started transitioning. Sasha refuted media reports that [Clemmy] was killed by a man she met while out partying, who then took her to a bed and breakfast and shot her in anger upon discovering she was transgender.
Sasha shared that she had grown close to [Clemmy] in the past few months after [Clemmy] had moved from her hometown of Newcastle in KwaZulu-Natal. She lived with her boyfriend in Malvern, Johannesburg and worked from home as an online forex trader.
On Friday, 9 August, [Clemmy], Sasha, and a third friend went clubbing, but the evening took a dark turn when an incident with a taxi driver left the third friend with a broken wrist requiring medical attention. After spending several hours at the hospital with their injured friend, [Clemmy] and Sasha returned to Malvern in the early hours of the morning and decided to wind down at the Broadway Pub on Jules Street.
The two met up with friends and socialised, relieved to have returned safely after the taxi driver incident. Sasha denies reports that men were buying [Clemmy] drinks, saying, “We sat for a very long time. We just chilled; we didn’t even dance like we normally do when we go out.”
At around 4:45 am, [Clemmy] told Sasha she was heading home and left on foot. A few minutes later, Sasha received a frantic call from friends outside the pub. “They said, ‘They shot your friend!’ We ran as a group of friends towards the scene, about three streets away, maybe 800 metres. When I got there, Clemmy was on the ground, bleeding from the stomach, her eyes open,” Sasha recalled, adding that [Clemmy] was unresponsive.
“I was confused; I was traumatised. I tried to check if she was breathing, but I didn’t know what to do. I was just with Clemmy, and now she’d been shot…”
Police and an ambulance arrived, as did [Clemmy]’s boyfriend, who had been at home sleeping. The young woman was pronounced dead at the scene, and the gravity of the situation became painfully real.
Sasha and several friends are planning a march and candelight vigil to honour [Clemmy] and call for justice for their lost friend.
“Clemmy was a sweetheart, a bubbly person. She wanted to be a model; everyone said she was a beauty. But her dreams have been lost, just washed down the drain. Life can be taken away from you just like that—that’s what happened to Clemmy,” Sasha mourned.
Police have confirmed to MambaOnline that a murder investigation is underway. The motive is unknown and no arrests have been made.
https://www.mambaonline.com/2024/10/30/victims-of-deadly-hate-crimes-honoured-at-johannesburg-pride/
https://www.mambaonline.com/2024/08/19/joburg-murder-sparks-queerphobic-victim-blaming/
https://www.instagram.com/p/C-5vNX4M2Zv/
