Lumko ‘Johnson’ Leqela, an eccentric personality full of life and spunk, sadly passed away on Wednesday. Here’s what we know about their cause of death.
Lumko ‘Johnson’ Leqela dies: What’s the cause of death?
In a statement, Leqela’s family confirmed they “departed on the [Wednesday] 14th of September 2022.”
“This is a gut-wrenching loss to the Leqela family, their loved ones, the LGBTQIA+ community and ultimately to the South African broadcast and television community,” the statement read.
At this juncture, with the Leqela family seeking privacy to deal with the tragic loss, details on the cause of death have yet to be confirmed.
From what we understand, at the time of their death, Lumko Johnson was undergoing hormone replacement therapy, a process they opened up about in an Instagram post published in April 2022.
“I’m here to share that in the last few months I have been privately reshaping my gender identity, with the assistance of therapy and hormonal treatment. I’ve kept this private to acclimatise my family and close friends to what the possible outcome could be,” he wrote.
According to Mayoclinic, this form of therapy is used to “induce physical changes in your body caused by female hormones during puberty (secondary sex characteristics) to promote the matching of your gender identity and your body (gender congruence).”
Essentially, the process involves taking medication that blocks the function of testosterone, as well as estrogen, to decrease the production of the male hormone “and induce feminine secondary sex characteristics.
Risks involved in gender-affirming hormone therapy include:
- A blood clot in a deep vein (deep vein thrombosis) or in a lung (pulmonary embolism)
- High triglycerides, a type of fat (lipid) in your blood
- Weight gain
- Infertility
- High potassium (hyperkalemia)
- High blood pressure (hypertension)
- Type 2 diabetes
- Cardiovascular disease
- Excessive prolactin in your blood (hyperprolactinemia)
- Nipple discharge
- Stroke
It remains unclear if this crucial journey Lumko Johnson took had anything to do with their cause of death.
Lumko ‘Johnson’ Leqela biography
Details on Lumko ‘Johnson’ Leqela’s background were hard to find. However, from what we understand, they may have been a native of Mthatha, Eastern Cape, born in 1989.
South Africa fell in love with Lumko Johnson when they first appeared on SABC 1‘s youth programme, YoTV. Their extroverted aura and wit won over many hearts, and the success of their work on the show spawned an impressive career which included radio-casting on YFM and acting gigs on Inkaba.
Outside of their work in the entertainment industry, Lumko Johnson was a renowned LGBTQIA+ activist.
“Lumko lived a life filled with purpose and authenticity. As we process this shock as a community, let us remember their light in this world,” the family wrote in a statement.
Reactions to Lumko’s death
Social media was left in shock when news of Lumko Johnson’s death surfaced on Wednesday. Here are some of the tributes we picked out: