The European Parliament has taken a stand — calling for the full recognition of transgender women as women at the UN. Here’s why it matters. 🌍🏳️‍⚧️ www.mambaonline.com/2026/02/19/e...

🏳️‍🌈 25 years. Countless stories. A diverse community. MambaOnline, South Africa’s leading LGBTIQA+ news platform, is celebrating a quarter century of queer storytelling, activism and community impact. 🎉 Read more below! www.mambaonline.com/2026/02/19/m...

🚨 Lawmakers in Ghana reintroduce one of the world’s harshest anti-LGBTQ+ bills in Parliament — targeting queer identity, advocacy and healthcare. Here’s what it means. www.mambaonline.com/2026/02/18/g...

A storm is gathering around a high school in Benoni following allegations that eight LGBTQ+ learners were publicly humiliated and retraumatised by the principal over their school uniforms and gender expression. www.mambaonline.com/2026/02/18/s...

From puberty blockers to constitutional rights, trans medical experts have pushed back against opposition to gender-affirming care for trans youth in South Africa. Here's what they had to say! www.mambaonline.com/2026/02/17/t...

What does Ramadan feel like when you’re both queer and Muslim? Sikhander Coopoo's powerful reflection explores faith, loneliness and the fight to belong. 🌙 www.mambaonline.com/2026/02/17/o...

Activists and health leaders gathered in Johannesburg to mark one year since funding cuts shut down queer health services and reshaped South Africa’s HIV response. Here’s what they revealed. www.mambaonline.com/2026/02/14/o...

We should be angry. One year after Imam Muhsin Hendricks was murdered, the silence is deafening and the case unsolved. We asked for answers from the SAPS, the government and the NTT. Their responses gave us little comfort or hope. www.mambaonline.com/2026/02/12/n...

Langa is glowing in Pride colours! 🌈 A powerful new LGBTQI+ Pride mural honours diversity, inclusion and queer community voices in the Cape Town township. www.mambaonline.com/2026/02/12/c...

Hope on the horizon in Kenya! The Appeal Court is set to review the country’s colonial-era same-sex intimacy ban in May. Could this mark a turning point for LGBTQ+ rights? www.mambaonline.com/2026/02/11/h...

Cape Town’s ballroom scene is thriving — and Legacy Ball is at its heart. We speak to the organisers behind the vibrant event that started as a tribute to slain dancer Kirvan Fortuin. www.mambaonline.com/2026/02/11/l...

The “Grindr Gang 7” trial continued in Johannesburg on Tuesday — with allegations and denials over arrests and police brutality. Read the courtroom update! www.mambaonline.com/2026/02/10/j...

A romantic on-field same-sex proposal went viral — but days later, football referee Pascal Kaiser was assaulted. A stark reminder of the bigotry and hate queer people still face in sport. www.mambaonline.com/2026/02/10/f...

Cape Town Pride 2026 has added a slippery dose of spectacle to its official programme with the launch of a drag-hosted lube wrestling arena. Find out more here - and stand in line to WIN a bottle of exclusive Backdoor Botanics lube! 👇🏿 www.mambaonline.com/2026/01/30/c...

A new study has exposed major gaps in gender-affirming healthcare for transgender and gender diverse South Africans — from 20-year surgery waits to limited hormone access. Read more 👇 www.mambaonline.com/2026/02/07/s...

“Fix it!” — Calls mount for Big Brother Mzansi to act after transphobic comments about Ilano Sky spark backlash inside and outside the house. Find out more here 👇🏿 www.mambaonline.com/2026/02/06/b...

Two decades after marriage equality became legal, Limpopo residents call for scrapping of same-sex marriage during public hearings on South Africa’s new Marriage Bill. Here's what happened. www.mambaonline.com/2026/02/05/s...

Another young queer life cut short. Calls for justice grow after teen Shana Mzobe was found horrifically murdered in KwaZulu-Natal. Here’s what we know so far. www.mambaonline.com/2026/02/05/b...

🚨 Latest from the Joburg Grindr Gang Trial: New testimony by the lead investigator on Tuesday revealed how an ATM withdrawal led police to the suspects and a dramatic rescue. www.mambaonline.com/2026/02/04/j...

In this personal and unflinching reflection, Bruce J. Little examines how lookism and “pretty privilege” shape queer desire, dating and self-worth. He asks what happens when the mirror stops giving us the validation we once relied on. www.mambaonline.com/2026/02/04/q...

New UK data confirms that sexual minority people die younger and at higher rates than heterosexual people. It shows, for example, that among LGB+ people aged 16–24, nearly half of all deaths were due to suicide. Find out more 👇🏿 www.mambaonline.com/2026/02/03/p...

A Ugandan court has dismissed the first death penalty case brought under the Anti-Homosexuality Act, ending a more than two-year ordeal for the traumatised survivor. www.mambaonline.com/2026/02/03/u...

The accused in the “corrective rape" of a young lesbian woman in the Eastern Cape returned to court for a decision on his bail application. www.mambaonline.com/2026/02/02/s...

The owner of Babylon Bar in Johannesburg, Heinz Rynners, has opened up about the closure of the popular long-standing queer venue, and his future plans for the brand. www.mambaonline.com/2026/01/31/t...

After MambaOnline intervened, BackaBuddy shut down a cynical LGBTQ+ Gaza stunt fundraiser launched by Renaldo Gouws, calling it a breach of its platform standards. www.mambaonline.com/2026/01/30/b...

Uganda has shut down another human rights group that defends the rights of LGBTQ+ people, intensifying its crackdown on civil society, democracy and queer advocacy. www.mambaonline.com/2026/01/30/u...

🏳️‍🌈 Cape Town Pride 2026 is HERE! 🏳️‍⚧️ Three weeks. Dozens of events. One powerful theme: Ubuntu – I Am Because We Are. From hikes and film premieres to drag, dialogue and the iconic Pride Parade — here’s everything you need to know 👇🏿 www.mambaonline.com/2026/01/28/c...

🌈 A big win for queer expression in Kenya! The Appeal Court has ruled that banning the ground-breaking lesbian film Rafiki was disproportionate. Read what this landmark decision means. www.mambaonline.com/2026/01/27/k...

Show your love for Big Brother Mzansi’s first proudly trans housemate by voting to keep Ilano Sky in the house! 🌈🔥 Here's how to do it ⬇️ You can also find out more about Ilano here ➡️ www.mambaonline.com/2026/01/13/m...

🚨 December 2025’s LGBTIQ+ Rights Watch is out 🚨 Every month, we track LGBTIQ+ rights violations in South Africa. December saw horrific incidents of violence, religious intolerance, as well as alleged workplace discrimination. Read the report here ⬇️ www.mambaonline.com/2026/01/26/s...

A blow to international LGBTIQ activism. Russia has targeted ILGA World - the globe's biggest grouping of LGBTIQ rights groups - under its “undesirable” organisations law. Here’s what it means — and why it matters. www.mambaonline.com/2026/01/23/r...

She’s not just serving looks — she’s serving truth. Regina Blaque brings drag, wit and activism to Drag the News – Mamba Edition. Find out more here 👇🏿 www.mambaonline.com/2026/01/23/r...

"The law is not what they say the law is." The Equality Court has dismissed Cape Town trans woman Jackye Majawie’s bathroom rights case. But she’s not giving up on her three-year legal fight. www.mambaonline.com/2026/01/22/c...

"I was terrified." A gay couple in Olivedale, Johannesburg, have been left shaken after being subjected to a vicious homophobic hate speech attack in their neighbourhood. www.mambaonline.com/2026/01/21/h...

England’s official LGBT+ football supporters group is boycotting the 2026 World Cup in the USA, warning it’s no longer safe for queer fans. Read why 👇🏾 www.mambaonline.com/2026/01/20/w...

Outrage grows after a child was publicly degraded by a Midrand pastor for "acting gay" — and the video went viral. Now a formal abuse complaint has been opened. www.mambaonline.com/2026/01/20/c...

The backlash against Big Brother Mzansi’s Ilano Sky says more about our collective discomfort and ignorance than about her. Nompilo Gwala writes that it shows that transgender visibility and representation are more important than ever. www.mambaonline.com/2026/01/19/o...

Once seen as a corporate LGBTQ+ ally, Virgin Active in the UK is being sued after barring trans members from using changing rooms aligned with their gender identity. Here’s what you need to know. www.mambaonline.com/2026/01/17/u...

In this powerful op-ed, queer spiritual leader Chief Davis Mac-Iyalla traces LGBTIQ identity back to Indigenous West African spirituality — long before colonialism, missionaries and criminal laws. Here's why queerness is not un-African — homophobia is. www.mambaonline.com/2026/01/16/o...

🚨 UPDATE: A second suspect linked to the horror murder of queer Cape Town teenager Kwakhanya Mhlanganisi has been arrested, with both accused abandoning bail at a court hearing on Thursday.

🚨 "We don’t teach gays.” A KZN high school is under investigation after a learner alleges he was expelled for being gay. Here’s what we know so far. 👇🏿 www.mambaonline.com/2026/01/15/o...

Josh Cavallo says coming out came at a cost. The gay footballer alleges homophobia forced him out of his club, Adelaide United — and nearly made him regret living openly. Read more 👇 www.mambaonline.com/2026/01/15/g...

🔥 A secret gay romance. A brutal sports culture. And a love story that refuses to hide. Heated Rivalry is redefining queer representation in sports shows — and fans are obsessed. Read why this series is such a big deal. www.mambaonline.com/2026/01/14/h...

🏳️‍⚧️✨ Meet Ilano Sky - Big Brother Mzansi’s proudly transgender housemate, bringing glam, heart and queer representation and visibility to South African screens. Full story 👇🏿 www.mambaonline.com/2026/01/13/m...

“It’s a very ominous feeling, looking at my student number.” UCT trans students say deadnaming on student IDs exposes them to discrimination and trauma. Here’s why they’re demanding urgent change. www.mambaonline.com/2026/01/12/u...

The South African government has finally released draft regulations to implement the Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Act — passed in 2023 but yet to be enforced. We break down what the rules mean for LGBTQ+ people, policing, prosecutions and accountability. www.mambaonline.com/2026/01/08/p...

As the family of slain queer teen Kwakhanya Mhlanganisi seeks justice, the court system continues to fail them. The bail hearing was postponed after officials couldn’t find the case docket. www.mambaonline.com/2026/01/07/k...

Kazakhstan has signed a sweeping new law banning so-called LGBTQ+ “propaganda” — a move human rights groups warn mirrors Russia’s crackdown on queer visibility. The law threatens free expression, education and LGBTQ+ safety. www.mambaonline.com/2026/01/06/k...

What happens when a pop icon like Nicki Minaj starts echoing right-wing talking points? Malaika Delport, a former fan, reflects on how denying trans rights has become a unifying force for the global right. www.mambaonline.com/2026/01/06/o...

South Africa’s first out gay mayor, Chris Pappas, has been formally vindicated. The Public Protector has issued a report confirming no evidence to support nepotism and corruption allegations that led to protests and calls for his arrest. www.mambaonline.com/2026/01/02/c...