Four Men Convicted Of Killing 19-Year-Old South African Lesbian Sentenced To 18 Years In Prison; Hailed As Significant Sentences Although Three Men Convicted Of Killing Rhinos Were Sentenced Tuesday To 25 Years

A South African judge sentenced four men convicted of murdering a Cape Town lesbian to 18 years in prison Wednesday in a move activists said set a precedent for harsher sentencing in homophobic crimes. According to the AFP, a crowd outside the court burst into cheers and dancing, and gay-rights groups welcomed the sentence, which came three days after UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon scolded African leaders for failing to do more to protect homosexuals on a continent where anti-gay prejudices are deeply entrenched. The four men were convicted in October of stoning, kicking and stabbing to death Zoliswa Nkonyana, a 19-year-old who lived openly as a lesbian, just metres from her home in the impoverished township of Khayelitsha in 2006. Magistrate Raadiyah Wathen said the four -- Lubabalo Ntlabathi, Sicelo Mase, Luyanda Londzi and Mbulelo Damba -- had attacked Nkonyana because of her sexuality. The Triangle Project, a Cape Town gay rights organization, said that the verdict's language had set a legal precedent for sentencing in future hate crimes. "It was truly a significant victory for us in terms of setting some kind of precedent for future cases that involve an element of hate or discrimination or bias in respect of sexual orientation," Jayne Arnott, the group's director, told AFP. "The magistrate in the sentencing recognised that Zoliswa had a right to live openly as she chose, as a lesbian in the community, and that there was a clear indication of intolerance and hatred towards her on these grounds. Prosecutors, who had asked for 15-year jail terms, welcomed the sentence and said it sent a message that hate crimes would not be tolerated in South Africa, where violence against gays is common despite liberal laws that are the only in Africa to allow same sex marriage. But the men, who faced possible life sentences, got off more easily than three poachers who were sentenced to 25 years Tuesday for killing rhinos in a national park. "I had no idea that for rhino poaching you can get a bigger sentence than for murdering somebody. That's a bit of a jolt," said activist David von Burgsdorff of rights group People Against Suffering, Oppression and Poverty. But, he added, "The sentence could have been less also. We're happy with it. We think justice was served." Lesbians in South Africa are commonly targeted for attacks known as "corrective rape" by men trying to "cure" their homosexuality. Three years ago a man was sentenced to life in prison and another to 32 years for the gang rape, robbery and murder of Eudy Simelane, a lesbian activist who had been a midfielder on the national football team. In December, Human Rights Watch issued a report accusing South Africa of "desperately failing lesbian and transgender people" by not doing enough to stop attacks against them. UN chief Ban criticized African governments at an African Union summit Sunday for treating gays as "second-class citizens or even criminals.” Even under South Africa's liberal constitution, there is often a gap between law and practice, activists say. "That's the laws on paper. In practice, African societies... are very homophobic," Von Burgsdorff said, adding, "There are some progressive South Africans, but there's so much more to do to get the broader South African communities on that same page."