Family of Iqbal, murdered in South Africa, in deep sorrow

Family members of a Bangladeshi businessman, who was killed in South Africa, are still reeling from the shock.

Iqbal Hossain, 30, ran a grocery shop in the Bochabela neighbourhood of Bloemfontein in the Free State province. He had migrated to the country 12 years ago, his family members said.

On Tuesday night, his business came under attack by a gang of robbers. They shot Iqbal when he tried to stop them from looting the shop.

Police later recovered his body and sent it to a hospital morgue. The body was identified by Iqbal’s younger brother Imran Hossain Sumon, who worked with him in South Africa.

Iqbal’s murder follows similar killings of expatriate shop owners who are becoming increasingly vulnerable in South Africa due to the organised activities of robbers, extortionists and kidnappers.

His family hails from Aman Ullahpur village in Feni’s Daganbhuiyan.

Iqbal’s parents and wife Nasreen Akhter have sought help from the government in bringing back his body to Bangladesh, said Daganbhuiyan Police OC Md Saleh Ahmed Pathan.

He was the eldest among four brothers and a sister, said Iqbal’s father Mofizur Rahman. Iqbal later took his younger brother Sumon, who called the family to inform them of the murder on Wednesday. 

Among the 2 million foreign nationals living in South Africa, around 100,000 are Bangladeshis, according to official data. 

Most Bangladeshis run small businesses, selling groceries or electronic goods. Some also run restaurants. More than a hundred foreign nationals were killed in South Africa last year, and many of them were Bangladeshis.

At least four young men from Feni were killed in the country in the last one month, and of them three hailed from Daganbhuiyan.