Cape Town’s LGBTQ+ road crossing has been defaced, with the word “Jesus” scrawled across the colourful landmark in the heart of De Waterkant.
The Somerset Road pedestrian crossing was vandalised over the weekend.
Photographs of the damage show the crossing’s colours scuffed out, with the word “Jesus” prominently written over it.
City of Cape Town Ward 115 councillor Ian McMahon confirmed the vandalism in a Facebook post, saying it had caused “significant damage to the rainbow surface.”
Evidence points to homophobia
The vandalism has raised questions about the true motivation behind the act.
The colourful crossing has become a prominent symbol of LGBTQ+ visibility in De Waterkant, one of Cape Town’s most LGBTQ-friendly neighbourhoods.
The rainbow flag is an international symbol of LGBTQ+ pride, identity and visibility.
In 2023, a group opposed to the LGBTQ+ symbolism of the rainbow crossing on Somerset Road had threatened to vandalise or deface it as part of a protest.
Rainbow gets a quick, pink makeover
The City of Cape Town moved quickly to deal with the damage, but restoring the crossing to its original rainbow design isn’t an overnight fix.
The specialised paint colours needed have been ordered, and are expected to take approximately three months to arrive.
In the meantime, City officials have temporarily painted the entire surface pink.
“Rather than leave the crossing damaged…it has temporarily been painted solid pink,” McMahon added.
The colour choice was partly inspired by Lisbon’s famous Pink Street.
A second act of vandalism on rainbow crossing?
A separate claim of a second act of vandalism also surfaced on Reddit on Tuesday, accompanied by a photograph appearing to show a religious scripture message painted over the pink paint.
The message reads: PERVERSION, ROMANS 1:24-27, JESUS IS LORD
However, the image and circumstances surrounding the alleged second incident have not yet been verified. The claim is therefore being treated as unconfirmed until more information comes to light.
