The disappearance of Mazwi Kubheka has sparked outrage in Vosloorus, Ekurhuleni, with community members calling for Acting Police Minister, Dr Firoz Cachalia, to intervene.
Image: Social Media
The recent disappearance of a Vosloorus spaza shop owner has ignited both outrage and concern across South Africa, drawing international attention and calls for calm from the United Nations (UN).
Mazwi Kubheka, 27, went missing on April 2 amid concerns that his alleged refusal to sell his business to foreign nationals may have led to his disappearance.
The death of another local shop owner from Soweto, Tumelo Gaillele, has further escalated these tensions, with the community in Jabulani lamenting his alleged death at the hands of rivals in the spaza shop sector.
However, the Gauteng police were unable to confirm Gaillele's death following reports that his fatal shooting was also sparked by his refusal to vacate his spaza shop. According to unverified reports, Gaillele was shot dead shortly after closing his shop recently.
The unrest in Vosloorus reached a boiling point on Monday, when residents took to the streets, vowing to shut down all spaza shops until Kubheka is safely returned.
Captain Tintswalo Sibeko from the provincial police department confirmed that an ongoing investigation is under way, with two individuals questioned in relation to Kubheka's case.
"I can confirm that a missing person report has been opened on 02 April 2026, and the investigation is ongoing. Two people of interest were taken for questioning yesterday, and statements were obtained. No arrest has been made yet, and the investigation is ongoing," Sibeko said.
Members of ActionSA and March and March movement helda march in Tshwane on Tuesday over the challenge posed by illegal immigration.
Image: ActionSA Tshwane X Account
On Tuesday, ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba, and March and March movement, delivered a memorandum of demands to Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia.
Mashaba indicated that what started as a missing case matter has become something bigger, adding that the treatment of this serious matter should not be allowed to be another case of the country's citizens disappearing without the police acting in the best interest of locals.
Mashaba and March, and March's leader, Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma, were among the leaders spearheading the protest against illegal immigration on Tuesday, with both leaders calling for the government to do something about the illegal immigration crisis.
Reflecting on the challenges brought by illegal immigration, Ngobese-Zuma told reporters in Tshwane that it is the responsibility of the police to verify those suspected to be illegal immigrants.
"It is not our job to verify. It is the job of the police to verify those suspected of being illegal immigrants. There’s nothing xenophobic about wanting law and order in your country. We don't care what you label us," she said.
Attempts to get a comment from Cachalia's office regarding the memorandum of demands were unsuccessful at the time of publication, with ministerial spokesperson Kamogelo Mogotsi unavailable for comment.
Meanwhile, in a statement released by UN Secretary-General António Guterres' spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric, the UN urged the South African government to take immediate action to quell the rising anti-immigrant sentiments that threaten to destabilise South African communities already grappling with crime and xenophobia.
Dujarric highlighted the historical significance of unity and cohabitation in South Africa, reminding South Africans that the nation’s liberation Struggle was bolstered by international support.
Despite this criticism, Dujarric welcomed the South African government's initiatives aimed at combating corruption within the immigration system, alongside the implementation of the National Action Plan against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia, and Related Intolerance.
"The Secretary‑General recalls that South Africa’s struggle against apartheid was sustained through international and African solidarity, and that the country’s social and economic development has long been shaped by the coexistence and contributions of people from South Africa, the African continent, and beyond," Dujarric stated.
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