A Limpopo HIV-AIDS activist says it’s important to break the stigma and promote equal access to treatment for people with HIV.
Thovhowani Makondo, widely known as ‘Queen Beyonce’, from Ha-Khakhu village outside Louis Trichardt, has been living with HIV since 2014.
Makondo has gone public about his status to dispel the stigmatisation.
He says his sexual orientation resulted in his family members distancing themselves from him.
He is a member of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (LGBTQI+) community.
Makondo says his resilience has shaped his journey.
“My sexuality stigma affected me a lot. Where I come from it’s a rural area, so they don’t understand that being LGBTQI+ was not easy for me. They couldn’t accept me.
“Some people were saying I’m cursed, some saying I was bewitched but I did not decide to be this way, I was born like this. The stigma around the community was very bad because I was judged, I was insulted and called names, it also affected me mentally. I even left school because of bullying,” says Makondo.
– SABC
