A popular Nigerian businessman, widely known as Big Joe, has reportedly been shot dead outside his shop in Witbank (Emalahleni), Mpumalanga Province, South Africa.
The fatal incident comes as concerns continue to mount over rising anti-foreigner tensions in parts of South Africa ahead of the planned June 30 xenophobia protest.
According to eyewitnesses, the businessman was standing outside his business premises when unidentified gunmen approached and opened fire on him multiple times before fleeing the scene.
The attack triggered panic among members of the expatriate community, with videos circulating on social media showing the victim lying in a pool of blood while residents and fellow traders rushed to the scene.
He later succumbed to his injuries and was confirmed dead at the scene.
Meanwhile, the President of the Nigerian Union in South Africa, Smart Nwobi, confirmed the death of the businessman as well as another Nigerian, describing both incidents as occurring ahead of the June 30 xenophobic protest.
Speaking during an interview on ARISE TV on Monday, Nwobi condemned the continued attacks targeting Black foreign nationals in South Africa.
“I could conclude that the two deaths that occurred—one yesterday- were a result of the authorities, metro officers, who hacked a Nigerian person to death.
“We received this news yesterday. The other death was a Nigerian national in Witbank who sells gold and diamonds.
“He has a shop, and he was shot down in front of his shop by locals after he opened his shop,” Mr Nwobi stated.
He also expressed concern over the worsening conditions faced by Nigerians awaiting evacuation from South Africa, revealing that more than 1,000 citizens have been displaced and are currently stranded.
“The challenges that many Nigerians face currently are issues of displacement. Most of them are sleeping on the street.
“As you know, more than a thousand have been screened and are currently stranded. In fact, they are being made worse off as a result of the delay of this evacuation,” he explained.
According to Nwobi, the Nigerian Union in South Africa recently staged a protest at the Nigerian High Commission in Pretoria over what it described as poor communication and inadequate collaboration regarding the evacuation process.
He, however, disclosed that the union had received information that two flights would be deployed to evacuate stranded Nigerians, while calling for more effective communication from Nigerian authorities.
“I was informed yesterday that a flight will be made available this morning to evacuate our people. In fact, two flights will be made available.
“What we are seeking is timely communication and timely engagement with union members, so that our people who are stranded can at least know where to go and how they should prepare to be evacuated,” he added.
Nwobi identified Johannesburg, Durban, East London and Bloemfontein as some of the major hotspots for xenophobic attacks and criticised what he described as the inadequate response of South African authorities, particularly the police, despite repeated warnings.
“The issue here is that the South African Police Services, on different occasions, have told our people that they cannot really control this issue because of the number of South African locals that are part of these anti-xenophobic sentiments.
“Then the issue is whether the South African government has done enough to nip this in the bud at the beginning. Have they tried anything? They left it until it grew to a greater number before they started putting measures in place, whereas things have grown to a stage where lives have been lost in some instances,” he added.
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