Police in South Africa are "hot on the heels" of the suspects behind the killing of Muhsin Hendricks, dubbed the world's first openly gay imam, Deputy Justice Minister Andries Nel has said. The 57-year-old was in a car when he was shot dead in broad daylight in the coastal city of Gqeberha on Saturday.

A man hailed as the world’s first imam to say he was gay was shot dead in South Africa on Saturday, local police said, in what rights groups fear could be a hate crime.

Muhsin Hendricks was credited by some as being the world’s first openly gay imam and helped Muslims reconcile their faith with their sexual orientation.