An anti-drug operation turned deadly when a Nigerian national was sh0t dead in Ekurhuleni, Gauteng, a suburban region of Johannesburg, South Africa.
The operation involving a political party, ActionSA’s Ekurhuleni Mayoral candidate, Councillor Xolani Khumalo, occurred on Sunday, February 8, 2026.
An eye-witness claimed that the Nigerian was found sleeping in his car and panicked when he woke up to see a man on the bonnet of his car, and attempted to drive away, thinking it was a hijacking. He was shot in the process.
ActionSA confirmed the incident in a statement on Monday, saying that “during an anti-drug operation yesterday, joined by ActionSA’s Ekurhuleni Mayoral Candidate, Cllr Xolani Khumalo, a shooting incident occurred in which a Nigerian suspect, identified as being involved in drug trafficking, was sh0t”
The statement was issued by Khumalo in his capacity as ActionSA’s Ekurhuleni Mayoral Candidate.
Meanwhile, a group of Nigerian nationals gathered at Linden Police Station, calling for Khumalo’s arrest.
