Thursday February 1, 2024
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (HOL) — A Somali businessman, Mohamed Ahmed Mohamud, known as Mohamed Aderoow, was fatally shot in Cape Town by armed robbers, marking a continuation of the xenophobic violence targeting immigrants in South Africa. The incident, which occurred as Mohamud was planning his return to Somalia, adds to the rising death toll of Somali nationals in the country, with assailants still at large and police investigations ongoing.
South Africa, a hub for immigrants seeking economic opportunities, has seen an increase in xenophobic attacks, particularly against Somali shopkeepers, amidst accusations of job theft amid high unemployment and poverty. In Rustenburg, 150 km west of Pretoria, two Somali citizens, Abdirahin Hassan Ali and Ibrahim Warsame Ibrahim, were killed under similar circumstances in early December. Community leaders report about 1,500 Somalis have been killed over two decades, with at least eleven fatalities this year alone.
The continued targeting of Somali entrepreneurs reveals a critical security lapse and a judicial system that has yet to hold perpetrators accountable.
The political climate, with right-wing and populist rhetoric amplifying anti-migrant sentiments, threatens to exacerbate the violence as the 2024 elections approach. Community leaders say that historical patterns of xenophobic attacks in South Africa, including the 2008 violence that resulted in at least 62 deaths, underscore the urgent need for interventions to protect foreign nationals and address the underlying causes of xenophobia.