Somalia’s president says he “wants answers” from South Africa after the brutal murder of a Somali man in Port Elizabeth, Al Jazeera has learned.

The Somali man, 25-year-old Abdi Nasir Mahmoud Good, was stoned to death on May 30 by a mob. The violence was captured on a mobile phone and shared on the internet.

Sheik Mohammed, Somalia’s president, called on his South African counterpart Jacob Zuma to “act immediately” to arrest those responsible.

Kamal Gutale, chief of staff in the Somali presidency, told Al Jazeera on Monday: “The president has asked Mr Zuma and his foreign minister to look into the matter and investigate the brutal killing and violence.”

The murder is the latest in a number of attacks on Somali immigrants in South Africa. Police are investigating the death but no one has been arrested yet.

Graphic footage

The Somali presidency said the issue was raised on the sidelines of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) in Tokyo on Sunday, after the Somali community was hit by a series of attacks in South Africa the past week.

The graphic footage shows the bare-chested Good lying in the middle of a street while a mob pelts him with rocks and boulders as pedestrians and vehicles pass by.

Local media said Good was attacked while trying to protect his shop from looters. He was also stabbed in the violence.

The Somali community in South Africa, which numbers a few hundred thousand, reacted with outrage.

The Somali Association of South Africa (SASA) told Al Jazeera that at least five other Somalis have been injured and about 40 shops have been looted in the four provinces across the country.

Government inaction

“At the time, President Zuma was not aware of the incident and expressed surprise,” Gutale said.

The South African president promised to look into the matter, he said.

But SASA said the South African government has repeatedly failed to act on this and previous attacks on foreigners.

“This is not the first time; this is happening over and over again. The South African government is not taking action, the community is angry and every time this happens, nothing is ever done,” said SASA spokesman Ismaeel Abdi Adan.

The South African presidency was unavailable to comment.

The African Centre for Migration and Society at Witwatersrand University in Johannesburg, said in a report released in 2012 that Somali-run businesses suffered disproportionately from crime, including attacks by competing South African traders.

The South African government has repeatedly claimed that the violence were acts of criminality and not xenophobic in nature.

In 2008, more than 50 foreign African nationals were killed in a spate of violence against foreign nationals across the country.

1 COMMENT

  1. SOUTH AFRICANS are very brutal society SAVAGES. in south africa apartheid era what they use to do to blacks was beyond anyone imagination, the apartheid regime they use TNT to blow up black who ever oppose their orders, and even sometime drag some black behind the truck or 4WD ALONG the road. so, the brutality are embedded their bones.

    • Sax. Wa ruunta walaashay! Sometimes we have to look beyond qabil. This was an innocent man stoned to death. I don't care if he was Somali or not, it is a brutal way to go.

  2. No one is out there to defend the poor people of Somalia, because the current President prefers to beg every nation he visits, instead of fighting for the right of his people. The only option left for these Somalis from Somalia is come back to the President's DEN and fight for their rights until this NGO government is changed to one that cares for its people. The history teaches that Wanlaweyns government officials only care about their pockets.

    How the people of Somalia will get justice, since their politicians from the President down to member of parliament are nominated for them by outsiders, and they did not elected them. There is no check and balance of the Somalia politics and those who run.

  3. It was Hassan Mahamoud you made a public broadcast in Vila Amisom to belittle the attempted Genocide in Somaliland-Republic in the 1980ies.

    This man is neither sincere nor with with any principles hence i do not believe he cares about those dying in S.Africa.

    – There are Over a Million Somalis still living in Dadaab, Dollo Ado and Yemen has he made any attempts to collect those refugees in whose name he is begging the globe for funds???

    Then why must the death of a few worry him when millions are living in critical conditions.

  4. Brutal, Savage and Inhumane. South African government and police has failed the people of Zimbabwe and Somali people in South Africa. They have been under constant barbaric attacks physically, on their businesses and property. They bring business knowhow, entrepreneurship and wealth into South Africa without the benefit of basic protection. It is a dark spot on AFrican history and image. South Africa and other decent South Africans should not ignore these horrendous massacres.

  5. The people understand that somali is only somali, and nothing else. But yet you find some muppets on here refering to the people killed in south africa are somalis, meaning they belong to southern part of somalia. The inhumane criminals in south africa will not ask you whether you are from the south or north, simply, they see you just another somali to be added to the killed list.

    Sometimes i wonder if those some idi*ts who post st*pid comments are muslims

  6. The youth of African countries are evaporating and leaving their countries to get an opportunity to ameliorate their lives, but unfortunately they die either in the Arabian desert or any of those countries who do not value the human life. The young men of Africa are also dying in their own countries or go to prison because they are either hounded, banished , humiliated and could not make a living wage in their own countries because of nepotism and lack of work. The African countries should change their rigid rules and start developing their countries natural resources in order to improve the lives of the coming generation.

  7. Somalis – any Somalis, every Somalis, all Somalis – listen up and listen good!

    Time to move away from these Bantu countries and reclaim your country. Collectively you can fight against al-Shaytan and live in peace and prosper within Somalia proper. I know you can do it! Free your minds from clannism.

    @Buxiye, Shame on you for politicizing a horrific murder!

    • Jabutawi really i am fed up u always give BS advice to Somalis as if Somali Rep is still one and ur country Jabuti is not somali too . Show leadership in ur Warabeeland first becoz still independence ur people only know dictatorship and one clan ruling party which make ur small enclave as worst tribal state comparing to Somaliland and Somalia. So free first ur mind from clanism

      • horned just stop with crazy delusional crap Somalia is one there's no Isaaq, no Hawiya and no Darood we are all one big family.

        VIVA Somalia.

        • Pirate boy u take side with traitor Isse warabee who reject somalinimo and Who love french white trash colony ur are so illogical lol . As Somalilander no more faqash Darood from South no more moryan Hawiye and Bantu Jareer we are too civilized for u. Stay in ur Zoomalia please.

          • @hornid

            I am not taking sides ok Jabuutawi is my somali brother from another country ok and also he's nationalist somali he said that he wants to bring Djibouti back to the Somalia fold to fulfil the great dream the Somaliweyn dream.

            Hornid please you need to stop this clan mentality Darood, Hawiya, Dir, Isaaq, Raxanweyn, Galgala, Tumal, Yibir and Gaboye we are all brothers and sisters.

            embrace your fellow somalis brothers and not the English white trash or the aids Ethiopians.

  8. Somalia through various ways helped many countries in the African continent and they all showed us the middle finger in return.

    A Lesson Learned Is A Lesson Earned so Fool Me Once Shame On You Fool Me Twice Shame On Me

  9. From what we have seen, Black South Africans do not really deserve to be freed from the apartheid yoke. The racists know only knew how deal with them. They inhuman, savages in every kind and shape. They shy away from their brutality. Their governments support those who do brutality to Somalis. The International community must action aginst this brutal, inhuman government and its savage Goirilla people. They desrve to be slaves for ever and ever

  10. What's happening in South African justices after President Mandella??? Lately the Media
    were reporting the Somali IDPs Refugees in S/Africa were being massacred and their
    businesses rainsacked by S/African mobs without the S/African Govt protecting these
    poor Somalis and their properties. Looks like that after President Mandella S/Africa is slipping
    back into lawlessness. The AU HQs in addis Ababa and the Responsible human rights watch
    and World Govts, High Commission/UNHCR should come to the aid of the poor Somalis in
    S/Africa. Something should be done to stop these inhumane outrageous brutal vicious atrocities.
    Cheers.

  11. I condemn these xenophobic attack but these so called Somali suppose to be refugees anyway so why the heck are they opening businesses in poverty villages in South African knowing the fact that South African jareer apes has a hight unemployment and many jareer apes in the poor poverty communities believe that Somalis are stealing their jobs.

    Every time when there's a jareer riot going on against the jareer government or gang-related apes violence cases the somali shops have always being besieged and the reasons are simply because

    *Jealousy of the genetic superiority because the South African are jareer bantus looking apes and the Somalis have completely different features to them.

    *Somalis open their shops in poverty stricken villages in South africa seriously rural villages?

    *Somali shop owners don't have any bank accounts to put their save which means the money is being kept overnight in register tills, cash boxes, cash drawers, saving jar etc which attracts jareer criminals.

    *The South African jareer apes are pissed off with the somali business because they way the Somalis shop owners conduct their business by cutting prices as low as possible and that puts them in direct conflict with Jareer apes South Africans.

    The killings and violence usually happen in the poor jareer apes areas.

    Overall the problem with somali people is that they are qablist for example a hawiye businessman will not invest in peaceful cities like Hargeisa, bosaso etc but will put his entire money in Jareer apes cities like Nairobi, Tanzania, South African etc.

    • Pissy be careful of what you say. HSM,RW/JW of the SFG are all listening to your dervish sermons.
      Cheers.

    • one of the biggest businesses in Somaliland is owned by a hawi/ye #TELESOM .. were not qabilistic in Somaliland, Hawiy/es just dont like you guys. LOL

  12. Omer Hussein Dualeh & Buuxiye,

    Do not try to score political points with the death of a man; any man and specially a Somali man; a man with the name "Good" most probably comes from Somaliland or Djibouti. You know that the name Good is not common in anywhere else in Somalia because the snake with this name is only found in northern Somalia. But that is beside the point; what we have here is Somali man who is dying in a lonely street, surrounded by ruthless savages and far away from home and family; a man who was attacked by a mob of black ugly mob who did not care whether this man is from Hargeisa, Djibouti, Mogadishu or Mars.

    As to the South African hoodlums who have committed this heinous crime against one of our own, I remind them that every Somali and all of Africa cried with them the day Steve Piko was bludgeoned by the supremacist Afrikaner government at the heyday of Apartheid South Africa.

    • Correction: not Steve Pico but Steve Biko or Stephen Bantu Biko (18 December 1946 – 12 September 1977) who was an anti-apartheid activist in South Africa in the 1960s and 1970s – Source Wiki.

    • What is to politicize?

      My concern was over Hassan Mahamoud's fraudulent attempts to claim he CARES!

      Now you and your like are quick to get emotional at everything and anything so should i be concerned? I think not. My comment and challenge of Hassan Mahamoud's integrity STANDS. This is no reflection on my view of the incident and i do sympathize with the loved ones of the victim. It was no way to die for any human being.

      If you wish to provide evidence that Hassan Mahamoud's 6-point Disintegration plan in any way shows he cares about any Somali group or person then that is up to you.

  13. Uff savage animals…
    May Allah have mercy on our brother who was unjustly and brutally murdered and may Allah make our lands peaceful and prosperous in Somaliland and Somalia or elsewhere in the Somali world so that our youth will not need to go to barbaric countries only to be abused.

  14. Xenophobia or frustration in South Africa?

    SOUTH AFRICA- Some say anti-foreigner sentiments are simply a symptom of people’s frustration with poverty and growing inequality.

    The crowd in South Africa’s Diepsloot township is hostile towards the police and journalists.

    They are standing across the road from a shop owned by a Somali national.

    The shop was looted the night before. It’s now empty and property like refrigerators destroyed.

    The police are keeping a close eye on the situation. The crowd is loud but so far they aren’t as violent as they were 24 hours earlier.

    People here began looting shops after a Somali national shot and killed two people during an argument on Sunday evening. The killings angered the people who live here, and they’ve been taking it out on foreign shop-owners. So far they’ve looted and destroyed 19 shops.

    Foreign nationals from countries like Pakistan, Somalia and Ethiopia quickly packed their belongings and were escorted from the area by the police.

    It’s exactly five years since thousands of foreign nationals were displaced – some even killed – when locals turned on them in 2008.

    Government officials are quick to say the community in Diepsloot township isn’t xenophobic, just angry about the shooting on Sunday and violence in general.

    Some political analysts and South Africans say what’s happening is xenophobia. I spoke to a number of people and I did hear comments like, “they should go home,” and “they bring diseases to cour country”.

    But there are others who say that anti-foreigner sentiments are simply a symptom of people’s frustration with poverty and growing inequality.

    That’s something that won’t change overnight. Whether or not we going to see more of this violence in South Africa is the question.

    Source from: http://www.jubbalandmedia.com watch the video

  15. South Africa is far, don't you know that they are raping Somali woman and children on daily basis in South Somalia- recently the called AMISOM monkeys rapped small girl around baydhabo . Somalinino remained a lip talks, no Somali care about it.
    Adeer kay doonaan ha dillaan, tay doonaanna ha wasaan! Inagiibaba ibadbaadinayne!

  16. Wagalla Massacre when Kenya Troops Point blank killed 5000 Somali Men and Boys.

    9th Feb 1984… Watch the Video.


    5000 Somali men were told to strip naked and then they were murdered, then they went back for their women and children… Hassan Mahamoud and the so called Somali politicians are in Kenya today discussing who will be Kenyata's b1tch.

    What did Siyad Barre do from 1984? he was killing Somalilanders by their thousands is it possible Siyad Barre had an agreement with Kenya to kill all Hawiye and Isaaqs?

    • Buuxiye brother, this is the part where we forget our past political differences and join hands, almost every country in the world suffered civil wars, Somalis are no different. a poor innocent Somali man was stoned to death because of his race and if we don't stop dividing, accusing and blaming each other this kind of tragic will only get worse. For once in your life will you think outside the triangle cities????

      May Allah restore peace and unity within us (Somalis).

      and we still haven't found a way to

      • ….it's 2013 and we still haven't found a way to forgive each other. sad sad.

    • buuxiye what your saying is what made us who we are today forget that now we have 1 qabiil and that is SOMALIA we have to stand united

    • you South Africans still haven't recovered from the scars the white Europeans left on you no wonder you're behaving like a bunch of slave apes that should not be treated as humans, you stoned a poor Somali guy to death for being business minded since you lot chimpanzees don't have the intelligence.

    • I couldn't watch the video, just don't have the stomach for it. peace in Somalia inshaAllah

  17. Waryara,

    Nacnacda joojiya. Idinka aya wadankii iskudilaya and now you are acting like you are shocked with what is happening to Somalis. Imisa aya ku dhintay wadanka. I'm talking about men, woman and children. Imisa aya ku dhintay abarti dhaweed. How many kids??? How many aya ku dhimatay Somaliland??? Nacasnimada la aamusa. xalku wuxuu ku jura wadanka o ladajiyo. I'm not lying, lakiin wan ka xishooda to say that I'm Somali.

    Ciiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiil weeena.

  18. Buxis,

    The statistics it's not 5,000 but 1,800. and the reason was inter clan fight occurred NFD area, KDF tried to stop that but one clan reside NFD fIght against KDF.

    Barre/afweyne call moe Kenyan president and sent more 14,000 Somali National Army alone the border with kenya after that everything went quiet.

  19. It is time to move to home known what we know now that nobody like us if you don't like yourself. Yesterday, Somalia was a strong country and people were respected, but today no body cares about you. These people who are killing our young men and our kids every day are those that we were fighting for them to get independence. The other thing, what current administrator is doing when every day these action is happening? shouldn't they visit their people and see the situation they living in S. African corruption. I'm personally arching remainders to leave that country ASP because money and material can be found but your live is important than lose under these slaves.

  20. I believe these people are wild animals and the only people knows how to deal such animals is the west by making slave. i really believe that they missed their master and should been place in plantation-cam. I wanted to know Somali people that we need to stand together such violence and know that we will be strong and nobody can defeated us.

  21. ok some of you need to calm down with the slavery bit because to whites your black somali arse is no different.

    Now, this is horrific, every nation has its idi ots. South Africa is still poor at least the vast majority of its blacks. Understandably they will be jealous of other africans making a go of it in their nation. That does not excuse what they do to Somalis.

    Somalis also should try to stay away from "ghetto" areas, really poor areas where 1) they dont have any police or armed support 2) there isnt an already well established and numerous Somali population.

    3) they can do what the Koreans did in LA during the rodney king riots and get their own licensed guns and patrol and protect their neighborhoods.

  22. That event is very painful, and I believe that Somalis will retaliate. The light of Islamic nation appears in Somalia. It will go untill Southafrica. and at that time the killers of Somali people face the penalties they deserve, and we are able to forgive.