Four men, reported to be Pakistani nationals, were gunned down in a suspected ambush in South Africa, it emerged on Monday.
South African news platform News24 reported on Sunday that the incident occurred in Kempton Park, a city in the Gauteng province, on Saturday evening. It added that the victims were shopkeepers in the Sebenza area.
“According to several social media posts, the victims were Pakistani nationals,” the news outlet said, but noted that police were unable to confirm the victims’ nationalities.
Gauteng police spokesperson Colonel Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi confirmed the deaths and said the police were investigating them as murder cases, News24 said.
When asked to confirm the nationality of the victims, Nevhuhulwi told the news agency, “They are [foreign nationals], but unfortunately at this stage, I cannot confirm their nationality.”
According to her, the victims’ Honda car had stopped at a red traffic light when two unknown men driving a white sedan stopped next to their vehicle, got out and started shooting at them.
“The driver of the Honda tried to drive off but lost control and hit a traffic island,” the police official said, adding that the motive of the shooting was unknown and the suspects had not been arrested as of Sunday.
In a statement issued on Monday, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz expressed “profound grief and sorrow over the killing of four Pakistani nationals” in the incident.
“The chief minister extended her heartfelt condolences and sympathies to the bereaved families and prayed for strength and patience for them in this difficult time,” the statement said.
Hayat Khan, president of the Pakistan South Africa Association, said the association was deeply saddened and shocked by the killings and conveyed his condolences to the families of the deceased, local IOL News reported.
“It is heartbreaking to see people lose their lives simply while trying to earn an honest living and contribute to the South African economy. Violence affects not only the victims’ families but also creates fear and uncertainty throughout the wider community,” he noted.
Hayat urged the South African authorities to conduct a thorough investigation, bring those responsible to justice, and continue strengthening measures to protect all law-abiding residents, regardless of nationality.
Meanwhile, addressing a parliament session today, South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa also called attention to “outbreaks of anti-migrant sentiment and incidents of intimidation and violence directed at foreign nationals”.
“As the South African government, we have taken a firm stance against any form of intimidation, vigilantism or violence directed at foreign nationals,” he said.
His statement came as the country has witnessed often-violent demonstrations against illegal immigration, with more than 160,000 people leaving, including at least 54,000 who were deported, according to The Guardian.
In 2023, two Pakistani brothers were killed by unidentified individuals in South Africa, and were laid to rest at their native village of Chhangi in Sialkot district.
In 2022, a native of Wazirabad was murdered in South Africa during a robbery. He had been working abroad for six years.
