Mlando shines at gay pride parade

MBABANE – Local fashion designer Mlando Dhlamini joined 15 000 gays and lesbians during the 20th Joburg Gay Pride Parade last Saturday.

Dhlamini, who is now based in South Africa, was so well dressed for the occasion, even the South African newspaper the City Press put his picture on front page.
The socialite struck a pose for the newspaper dressed in an outfit that revealed most of his body.

He accessorised it with a multi-coloured headgear made of feathers. His face was also painted in multi-coloured make up.
Two other well known socialites, names deliberately withheld, also attended the parade and were also dressed for the occasion. One of them is pursuing a career in South Africa and the other resides locally. The other one was dressed in a checked suite which consisted of hot pants and a waist coat and the other one wore hot pants which showed off his legs.

Dhlamini confirmed that he did attend the parade and said this did not mean that he was declaring his sexual orientation. He said he was merely supporting the non discrimination of gay people.
He said the parade was attended by a lot of different people and not just the gays and lesbians.
“South Africa has the best constitution. It recognises the right of gay people and people of different sexual orientations are embraced,” he said.

He said there were other Swazis who attended the parade but he could not reveal their names. He said if he was in the country he would not have attended the parade, as homosexuality was still taboo in the country.
Dhlamini said he saw the picture published in the newspaper after he had received many calls with regards to it.

The parade started at 11am from Zoo Lake and wound its way through the streets of Rosebank. Stretching out over three and half kilometres, the procession - featuring marchers, floats and open top buses, brought traffic to a standstill. The event was held under the theme of ‘You Need Pride’ to emphasise the history and value of Pride to the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) community in South Africa and the continent.
The 2009 Joburg Pride celebrations concluded with numerous after-parties hosted by bars and clubs well into the early hours of Sunday morning.

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