By Horn Africa News
PORT ELIZABETH — A Somali national was tragically shot dead in the Booysenpark area of Port Elizabeth late on Friday night, in what police and community members believe was a targeted armed robbery.
The victim has been identified as Sharmaarke Aadan Muxumad, a Somali businessman in his early 30s, who had been living in South Africa for several years. According to sources close to the Somali community in Port Elizabeth, Sharmaarke was killed while working in a small convenience store he operated in the area.
Eyewitnesses reported that a group of armed men entered the shop shortly before midnight and demanded money. When Sharmaarke resisted, the assailants allegedly shot him at close range before fleeing the scene. He died of his injuries before emergency services could arrive.
South African police officers responded quickly, sealing off the area and opening a murder investigation. However, as of Saturday morning, no arrests have been made and the attackers remain at large. Police have appealed to the public for information that could assist in identifying the suspects.
This latest killing has reignited fears among the Somali community in South Africa, which has long been vulnerable to violence, robbery, and xenophobic attacks. Over the past decade, dozens of Somali shopkeepers and business owners have been killed in various parts of the country, often in circumstances similar to Sharmaarke’s death.
Local Somali leaders expressed outrage and frustration over what they described as the South African authorities’ failure to ensure the safety of foreign nationals, particularly Somalis engaged in small-scale businesses. “Every week we are burying young men who came here to seek a better life,” one community elder in Port Elizabeth told Horn Africa News. “Our people are being targeted, and yet we see little action from the government to protect us.”
The South African government has previously pledged to address the rise in violence against foreign-owned businesses, but Somali residents say those promises have not translated into tangible protection. Human rights organizations have also raised alarm over the growing trend of xenophobic violence, urging authorities to take stronger preventive measures.
As Sharmaarke’s family and friends prepare for his burial, the Somali community in Port Elizabeth has called for justice and demanded that the police intensify efforts to apprehend the killers.
For now, the death of Sharmaarke Aadan Muxumad adds to the grim toll of Somali lives lost in South Africa, highlighting once again the precarious reality faced by migrants and refugees who have sought livelihoods in the country.
