Nhlanhla Lux, Phakel'umthakathi clash over foreign-owned spaza shops

TENSIONS within South Africa's increasingly fragmented anti-immigration activism boiled over in Soweto on Wednesday when civic activist Nhlanhla "Lux" Mohlauli and KwaZulu-Natal activist Nkosikhona "Phakel'umthakathi" Ndabandaba clashed during an operation targeting undocumented, foreign-owned spaza shops.

The confrontation took place in Braamfischerville, where Phakel'umthakathi and his supporters had arrived to shut down businesses they alleged were being operated by undocumented foreign nationals.

The operation was disrupted by Lux, who confronted the group and asserted his leadership over community activism in Soweto.

Video footage circulating on social media showed the two groups engaged in a heated verbal confrontation, with Lux telling Phakel'umthakathi to return to KwaZulu-Natal and concentrate on his home area of KwaNongoma.

"Soweto is my kasi," Lux was heard saying during the confrontation.

The dispute appeared to expose growing tensions over leadership, influence and control within anti-immigration campaigns, with local activists increasingly competing over operations targeting foreign-owned businesses in townships.

Local community accounts suggested that the presence of residents cheering Phakel'umthakathi contributed to Lux's anger, amid perceptions that rival activists were attempting to claim prominence and credit for township mobilisation.

In other footage, Lux was seen physically intervening to prevent an alleged attempt to shut down a spaza shop.

The confrontation also carried an apparent linguistic and cultural dimension, with Phakel'umthakathi speaking isiZulu while Lux at times spoke Sesotho. Social media commentators expressed concern that the dispute could develop into broader tensions between AmaZulu and Basotho communities, although the immediate confrontation appeared primarily centred on competing activism and local control.

Security personnel accompanying the respective groups were also drawn into the confrontation as tempers rose. Police officers were present and intervened to prevent the situation from escalating into physical violence.

The incident comes amid growing anti-immigration sentiment in parts of South Africa, where campaigns targeting undocumented migrants and foreign-owned businesses have increasingly focused on spaza shops and other township enterprises.

Critics of the campaigns have warned that rhetoric directed at foreign nationals can easily spill over into xenophobia, Afrophobia and ethnophobia, particularly when nationality, language and ethnicity become intertwined with disputes over economic opportunities and political influence.

The Soweto confrontation has consequently raised concerns beyond the immediate dispute, with observers warning that rivalry among activists could create new fault lines within communities already grappling with tensions over unemployment, crime, informal trading and access to economic opportunities.

The clash also highlights the difficulties facing township authorities and law enforcement as they attempt to distinguish between legitimate enforcement of immigration and business regulations and actions carried out by groups seeking to take enforcement into their own hands.

No serious injuries were immediately reported following the confrontation.