Somali Citizens Brutally Murdered in Rustenburg, South Africa

Wednesday December 6, 2023

Cape Town (HOL) – Last night, in Rustenburg, a city located 150 km west of Pretoria in South Africa, two Somali citizens, Abdirahin Hassan Ali and his maternal uncle, Ibrahim Warsame Ibrahim, fell victim to armed gang violence while working in the area.

The South African police swiftly responded to the scene; however, no arrests have been made thus far, leaving the Somali community anxious and seeking justice.

This tragic incident is just one example of an alarming trend of recurring attacks targeting Somali workers in South Africa, a situation that continues to persist without substantial intervention.

As the year comes to a close, South Africa witnesses a significant surge in targeted murders and kidnappings, particularly affecting businesspeople. Criminal researchers attribute this spike to the Christmas holiday season, a period that they believe places additional pressure on gang members.

In early November, Cape Town, South Africa, was marred by a xenophobic attack resulting in the deaths of two Somali businessmen, namely Mohamed Dek Mohayaddin and Yusuf Mohamed Taakow. Two months prior, in September, Somali traders Abdulkadir Moalim Maareye and Hassan Hamoud Jaras were subjected to a violent assault in a rural village within the Eastern Cape region.

Xenophobic attacks in South Africa have been a persistent issue spanning multiple decades. Somali shopkeepers, in particular, bear the brunt of these targeted attacks, with dozens losing their lives each year. Community leaders in South Africa estimate that over the past 20 years, at least 1,500 Somalis have fallen victim to xenophobic violence.