Six Bullets, Four More Dead: The Blood Trail Haunting Foreign Business Owners in South Africa

Johannesburg — As the bullets came quickly, six of them tore through the body of Jeremiah Madondo, a Zimbabwean-born Transnet Engineering executive whose life had been defined by nearly three decades of work, responsibility and service, then came another burst of gunfire.

Just days later, four Pakistani shop owners were ambushed at a traffic light in Kempton Park, their vehicle turned into a killing field as armed attackers opened fire from both sides.

Five days, five families shattered in two separate attacks of foreign nationals.

Madondo's death on July 19, 2026, has shaken his family and the Zimbabwean community in South Africa, particularly after relatives claimed that his murder may have been connected to residential properties he owned.

The allegation has not been independently confirmed and investigators are yet to establish the motive.

But the family's account has raised disturbing questions as Madondo had spent 28 years working for Transnet Engineering, having joined the state-owned company on January 28, 1998.

At the time of his death, he was serving as Acting Corridor Quality Manager for the North Corridor at Transnet Engineering in Vryheid.

He had built a career, a home, a life and then, suddenly, he was gone.

His family spokesperson, Ishmael Madondo, said relatives had been informed that tenants occupying two of Jeremiah's properties had allegedly been ordered to leave before August 1.

The family claims they were told the houses would be "taken over by some South Africans".

It is a claim that remains subject to investigation, but one that has left the family convinced that the properties could have been at the centre of the tragedy.

"We lost a breadwinner, a loving man who has been a source of inspiration," Ishmael said.

The Madondo family has since buried Jeremiah at his ancestral home in Hayisoswi Village, Rusape, Zimbabwe, following a memorial service in South Africa.

Before the dust had settled around Madondo's death, another tragedy unfolded.

On July 25, four Pakistani shop owners were reportedly travelling through Sebenza, Kempton Park, when their journey ended in a hail of bullets.

Their Honda Ballade was reportedly stopped at a traffic light at the corner of Zuurfontein Road and Orangerivier Drive.
Then the attackers struck.

Witnesses reportedly saw at least three armed suspects in a white sedan open fire from both sides of the victims' vehicle.

The driver, believed to have been fatally wounded, lost control and rashed into a traffic island.

Inside were four men who would never make it home, all four declared dead at the scene.

Gauteng police spokesperson, Colonel Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi, confirmed that four murder cases had been opened.

The violence has cast a long shadow over foreign-owned businesses and communities in South Africa.

From spaza shops to retail outlets, foreign entrepreneurs have become an increasingly visible part of South Africa's informal economy, howeelver, their economic contribution has been at times overshadowed by hostility, criminal attacks and xenophobic narratives.

A reported bombing of a Pakistani-owned spaza shop earlier in July, allegedly while the owner was inside, adds to the growing sense of insecurity.

The result is a community that increasingly feels exposed, foreign business owners now open their shops every morning not knowing whether they will see the end of the day.

Competition for jobs, business opportunities and resources has frequently been blamed for fuelling hostility towards foreigners.

But authorities say they must establish the motive in each case, not every murder involving a foreign national is automatically xenophobic.