This archive report was first published on 6 September 2019.
September 6, 2019, marked a devastating day for Kenyan businessman John Thumbi, whose retail clothing store in Johannesburg was looted and burned down by rioters.
Mr. Thumbi, who had invested in South Africa since 2006, expressed disappointment with the South African government's inaction in quelling the violence.
"They have looted everything... This used to be my shop... It was around 8 o'clock last night when they came here and started looting," Mr. Thumbi narrated in a video post, showing the charred shell of his once-thriving clothing store.
He was among several Kenyans affected by the attacks, according to the Foreign Affairs ministry, and his business was not the only one to suffer. Other Kenyans were physically assaulted and their businesses looted and burnt in Gauteng Province, which includes Johannesburg.
Mr. Thumbi asked for compensation to make up for the loss that he and his family have suffered due to the xenophobic attacks.
"If they want us to go home, then they must tell us to go. They must give us what we came to invest here, because we have invested a lot here," Mr. Thumbi said dejectedly.
