SA Mom Pleads for Help After Son Killed for Allegedly Being Mistaken as a Foreigner in Mossel Bay

A heartbroken Limpopo mother is pleading for financial help after her 19-year-old son, Nhlamulo Sambo, was fatally stabbed during xenophobic unrest in Mossel Bay, Western Cape, on 31 May 2026.

He was a South African citizen from Giyani who was mistaken for a foreigner. His family says he was killed simply for being Tsonga in a Xhosa community.

Patricia Sambo, his mother, shared a desperate plea on social media. She cannot afford to transport her son’s body from Mossel Bay back to Limpopo for burial. She is unemployed and has been left scrambling to cover costs while grieving a child she never imagined burying this way.

A family demanding justice

His sister confirmed that Nhlamulo was attacked during the violent riots that tore through KwaNonqaba and Asla Park in Mossel Bay. Scores of residents fled the area during the unrest, with some carrying bags and suitcases, and others leaving with only the clothes on their backs. Homes were set alight, and around 400 displaced people were moved into emergency accommodation provided by the Mossel Bay Municipality.

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The family says Nhlamulo’s death was not just a crime. It was a case of deadly mistaken identity fuelled by hate. Two murder dockets were opened, and no arrests had been made at the time of reporting.

Operation Dudula has allegedly labelled the family’s account as fake news on X. The claim has done little to silence the growing online movement demanding accountability and justice for Nhlamulo.

Briefly News has reached out to the family, and no response was received at the time of this report.

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More about anti-immigration riots

• KZN Premier Thami Ntuli met civil society leaders and law enforcement in Durban over ongoing protests linked to immigration tensions.
• The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) has dismissed social media claims that soldiers will be deployed ahead of June 30.
• Around 700 learners from schools in Kraaifontein marched in an anti-immigrant protest demanding that foreign nationals leave their schools and South Africa.

Source: Briefly News