- The case will highlight the ongoing, systemic discrimination that transgender inmates like Mokoena face within South Africa’s prisons.
- Mokoena is seeking basic recognition and access to gender-affirming healthcare, as well as the right to change her name and gender marker to reflect her identity.
- Her application also shines a light on the unsafe and degrading treatment often endured by LGBTQI+ inmates, who are too often overlooked and marginalised.
On Tuesday 12 September 2025, Lawyers for Human Rights will appear before the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg, sitting as the Equality Court, to represent Nthabiseng Mokoena, a transgender woman who has bravely decided to challenge the degrading and discriminatory treatment she has faced at Johannesburg Correctional Centre.
In her fight for justice, Mokoena has brought a case against the Department of Correctional Services, the Minister of Correctional Services, and other officials, arguing that her constitutional rights to dignity, equality, and freedom from unfair discrimination have been violated.
Mokoena’s legal challenge exposes the deeply rooted discrimination that transgender inmates experience in South Africa’s prisons. She shares that the department has continuously refused to acknowledge her gender identity, denying her the right to be addressed by her chosen name and pronouns.
She has also been prevented from expressing her gender through clothing, cosmetics, and toiletries, and has endured verbal harassment and bullying from both staff and fellow inmates. Most distressingly, she has been denied access to gender-affirming healthcare, an essential aspect of her wellbeing and mental health.
But Mokoena’s fight is not just for herself. Her application asks the Equality Court to order the department to provide gender-affirming healthcare, to help her change her name and gender marker, and to house her in conditions that respect her identity. She is asking to be placed in a single cell or with other inmates who share her gender identity, in line with department’s own rules. This case stands to make a difference for many other transgender people in prison who face similar struggles every day.
Reflecting on her experience, Mokoena says, “The transphobia within department’s senior management is undeniable. There’s a clear difference in how heterosexual inmates are treated compared to members of the LGBTQI+ community. The LGBTQI+ community is often treated as less than human. When we are hurt or attacked, no one speaks up or does anything to help. Those who harm the LGBTQI community are never held responsible. What is worse, when we try to defend ourselves or speak out about the unfair treatment, we are the ones who get punished.”
Why this case matters for transgender inmate rights in South Africa
LHR stresses that this case could be a turning point for transgender rights in South Africa, especially for people in vulnerable settings like prisons. The outcome may set a new standard for how correctional facilities treat LGBTQI+ inmates, ensuring that everyone’s dignity and equality are protected, no matter who they are or where they are.
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