Saturday October 29, 2022
Leandra town, FILE
Johannesburg (HOL) - A 40-year-old Somali businessman was found dead outside his home in Leandra, South Africa, on Friday.
According to local police, the man was found by his neighbour, who heard the shots just after midnight and alerted the police.
Constable Nontobeko Ngubeni of the Leandra Police said that his officers found the deceased's body just yards from his residence. He is believed to have suffered three gunshot wounds to his torso.
The police say a murder investigation is still ongoing, but nobody has been arrested.
Leandra is a town roughly 100km east of Johannesburg.
Friday's murder marks the second time this week that a Somali trader was killed in South Africa. About 70km away in the Etwatwa township, armed men shot and killed a shopkeeper and injured his coworker.
Police arrived on the scene to investigate, but no arrests were made.
The Somali business community in South Africa has been subject to violent xenophobic attacks dating back to the mid-2000s. Somali-owned shops have been looted or burned down.
Somali traders have long accused the South African government of inaction on anti-immigrant violence.