By SCM Staff Writer
JOHANNESBURG — A South African community activist who sparked international outrage after a viral video showed him ordering foreign shop owners to pack up and leave the country in the peak of xenophobia has been brutally shot dead at his home.
Thato Molosankwe, a prominent local campaigner from South Africa’s North West province, was executed in a hail of bullets in Mahikeng. According to local reports, the anti-migrant activist was shot at least five times in what bears all the hallmarks of a targeted assassination.
Police have launched a manhunt for the killers, though authorities admitted it remains unclear whether the deadly hit was carried out by a lone gunman or a coordinated hit squad.
The brutal killing occurred just days after Molosankwe became the center of a raging social media storm. In a heated video that accumulated hundreds of thousands of views across various platforms, Molosankwe was filmed aggressively confronting Somali shop owners in his local community.
Using stark and uncompromising language, the activist issued a chilling ultimatum, ordering the foreign traders to permanently close their businesses “before Friday.”
In the footage, Molosankwe could be heard shouting that the foreign nationals had absolutely no right to trade in the area and demanded they vacate the premises immediately.
”You have no right to be here. Close these shops before Friday and get out,” Molosankwe warned the shopkeepers in the viral clip.
The video immediately polarized South Africa—a country that has long battled undercurrents of severe xenophobic violence.
While some local residents backed his hardline stance, claiming foreign-owned businesses undercut local traders, many others fiercely condemned his actions.
Critics labeled the confrontation a blatant act of criminal intimidation, vigilantism, and hate speech, warning that such rhetoric routinely leads to bloodshed.
The division followed Molosankwe even into death. As news of his assassination spread, some social media users mourned his passing, with one commentator writing, “May Allah forgive his shortcomings.”
Conversely, others pointed to his murder as the tragic but inevitable outcome of the escalating cycle of violence gripping the region.
South Africa has a deeply troubled history with xenophobic unrest. Over the past two decades, townships across Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Durban have periodically erupted into violence targeting migrants from Somalia, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, and Pakistan.
Local anti-foreigner groups often accuse migrants of taking jobs, driving down wages, and operating illegal businesses. Human rights organizations, however, argue that foreign shopkeepers are routinely used as scapegoats for the government’s failure to address crippling poverty, high unemployment rates, and failing public services.
Detectives in Mahikeng have refused to speculate on a motive for the murder, though local community members heavily suspect the killing is directly linked to the viral video and Molosankwe’s aggressive campaigning.
Security has been heightened around foreign-owned shops in the area amid fears that Molosankwe’s death could trigger retaliatory violence from his supporters.
No arrests have been made at this stage. Police have urged anyone with information regarding the shooting or the identity of the gunmen to come forward immediately, as the township braces itself for a tense weekend.
