Woman Activist Tells Foreigner To ‘Challenge’ Their Government As Group Shuts Down Shop

• A video is doing the rounds showing a woman leading a group in shutting down a foreign-owned spaza shop
• The woman is heard admonishing the shop owner for not challenging the government in their own country
• The clip shows the group removing goods from the shop amid pleas from the foreign national for a time extension

Law enforcement, political parties, civic groups, and, in some cases, residents are making a concerted effort to shut down non-compliant spaza shops.

A clip has since surfaced showing a vocal Patriotic Alliance (PA) member taking a foreign shop owner to task over a flurry of issues.

Activist gives foreigner lip service

The video was posted on the @MDNnewss X page and captioned:

"Victoria Africa declares, 'You're going to sell in your country,' while closing a spaza shop operated by [alleged] undocumented foreign nationals."

In one 140-second clip, a woman is seen being vocal as she chastises the shop owner and orders them to pack up their things and leave.

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The move came amid accusations the shop owner was an illegal immigrant while his shop was unregistered.

Further, he was busted for retaining community members' IDs.

"[We will] not allow you people to operate shops in the informal market. You've been operating here by force. We're not the [President Cyril] Ramaphosa; we're not the government of this country. We will lead the government as the community," Africa is first heard saying.

She looks down at his feet, notes he is wearing his shoes, and instructs him to begin to take his money while she and the rest of her group, mostly women also wearing PA T-shirts, will remove his stock.

She tells him everything is being filmed and that he should call his people to help him transport his goods away.

"In [the] future, baba, you [must] learn to face your government. When you come into any country as a foreign national, familiarise yourself with the laws of the country to understand which business space you can occupy.

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"[Instead], you're going everywhere doing as you please. We're fixing this country now, and we're teaching you to face your government and fix your country," said Africa.

The shop owner, who had been listening attentively, chipped in to say a few words, including that if the people whose documents he took didn't pay him, they would take out new cards.

He was admonished for retaining people's IDs and bank cards.

"Why are you taking people's IDs when you are an illegal immigrant!?" a member of the group is heard asking.

Another video shows the party's members removing the stock from the shop while the owner asks for more time to a clear refusal.

The clip attracted almost 580,000 views within 68 hours after it was published.

Mashaba hits out at foreign shop owner

In other news, Briefly News reported that ActionSA president Herman Mashaba has been vocal about foreign nationals operating spaza shops in the country as his party calls for local ownership of home enterprises.

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Calls for focus on local businesses after Gauteng woman accused of registering spaza shops

In March, ActionSA launched a campaign styled #Spaza4Locals, pushing for a shift in the status quo.

Source: Briefly News