A man regarded as the first openly gay Muslim imam has been fatally shot while sitting in a car in South Africa in what many are calling an assassination because of his teachings.

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.

The world's first openly gay imam in the Muslim faith was shot and killed in what local authorities say may be a hate crime.

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.

A pioneering gay imam was killed in a Cape Town ambush; police have yet to say if they will investigate his death as a hate crime.