A Ugandan man who was angry with his father for taking back his business allegedly set fire to the workshop of Nigerian nationals who were involved in automobile dealings in Pretoria, South Africa. The fire destroyed nine cars and vehicle parts worth a million, five hundred and fifty thousand rands (R1,550,000.00).
The incident happened on September 5, 2023, on Vom Hagen Street in Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa. Habib Miller, the National Publicity Secretary of Nigeria Union South Africa (NUSA), confirmed the incident in a statement on Saturday, September 9, 2023.
Mr. Owolabi Gbadamosi, an affected associate of the business, said that he was called around 7 p.m. on the day of the incident. He and his colleagues had closed from work around 6 p.m. and left for their homes in the province. When they received a call about a fire at their business unit, they thought it was the usual transformer explosion that occurred in the area when thieves tried to steal cables from the substation. Such blasts did not cause any significant damage to their shop.
However, when they got close to the location, they saw flames that indicated something serious. When they arrived at the property, the fire service was already there trying to put out the inferno.
Mr. Tunji Balogun, another business partner affected by the incident, recounted how he tried to save some of the vehicles during the extinguishing. But he was advised against taking such a risky action by the fire brigade.
The fire was allegedly started by the son of a Ugandan national who was subletting part of the location. The Ugandan man had been operating an automobile spare part business on the property for seven years. Last year, he established another business of the same type in Atteridgeville, Pretoria, and handed over the motor vehicle components business in Vom Hagen Street to his son.
According to eyewitnesses, this was because the Atteridgeville location was generating more income.
His son then secured a loan from his girlfriend and started running the business which became somewhat successful. However, a month ago, the son made a twelve thousand rand (R12,000.00) transaction through his father’s bank account. This was because he could not open one for himself due to documentation challenges.
His father only remitted half of the money to him, and this angered him. The son confronted his father about the situation, asking how he was expected to grow if he could not reinvest his earnings back into the business.
Unable to resolve their dispute, the father decided to take back the business from his son, taking advantage of having all the legal documents related to it.
When his son refused to vacate the building after being verbally informed, the father obtained a court order restraining his offspring from his and the surrounding businesses.
Weeks before the son allegedly set fire to the workplace, things got so heated that he attempted to stab his father but was stopped by mediators. The son then threatened his father with intending chaos.
When the business location was set ablaze, the father could be heard repeatedly lamenting that his son was behind it. It seems that the main target of the arsonist was his father’s business on the property, but it spread to Mr. Owolabi and Co.'s businesses.
“The suspected arsonist is still at large and a case docket has been opened at a Police Station,” Miller said.
This is not the first time that Nigerian businesses have been affected by violence in South Africa. In recent years, there have been several cases of xenophobic attacks against foreigners living and working in the country.
We hope that justice will be served for those who lost their properties in this unfortunate incident and that peace will prevail among all communities in South Africa.
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