IN 2023, residents of KwaThema in Ekurhuleni closed down all foreign nationals' shops in their area.
This was after they discovered that some were selling expired food, which affected residents, especially children.
And they vowed no foreigner would ever operate a shop in their kasi.
But now foreign shop owners are fighting back.
They have opened cases against community leaders.
On Tuesday, 2 January, angry residents marched to the police to demand that cops open cases against everyone.
But the police decided not to.
"Those individuals who are threatened with arrest were not acting alone," said community leader Tshepo Mwelase.
"We are living in fear because these foreign businesspeople are armed and dangerous."
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Residents claimed that the angry businesspeople are using izinkabi to eliminate their leaders.
They said they live in fear and don't sleep at their houses, because they've been told that foreign spaza shop owners, whom they closed away from the area, have allegedly hired izinkabi to eliminate them. However, no leader has been killed so far.
"We are on our own. Police won't even protect us," claimed a resident.
After leaving the police station, they went to one of the shops, which was believed to have been used to keep stock by some foreign business owners to get back into business.
When they got there, they found no stock but a bed and some items, which they later burnt.
Daily Sun spoke to some landlords who said they feared taking the foreign shop owners back as they would be attacked.
Landlord China Phakathi said he was planning to start his own business in the same shipping container left by his foreign businessman tenant.
KwaThema station commander Colonel Nhlanhla Kunene received a memorandum of grievances from the residents who marched to the police station and promised to address their complaints.
"We appeal to the community not to take law into their own hands."
