Special police team to investigate killing of an anti-migrant leader in South Africa

A significant story is unfolding on the international scene. Special police team to investigate killing of an anti-migrant leader in South AfricaImage source, Gallo Images via Getty ImagesImage caption, Demonstrators had set an unofficial deadline of 30 June for all undocumented migrants to leave South AfricaByHafsa Khalil and Mayeni Jones, Africa correspondent, Reporting fromJohannesburgPublished23 minutes agoA special police team has begun investigating the killing of a provincial leader of an anti-migrant group in South Africa. Police confirmed that Andile Mvuyelwa Somgxada, the Gauteng province leader of March and March, was shot outside his home east of Johannesburg earlier this month and died several days later in hospital. "It's a retaliation," March and March spokesperson Sandile Dube told the , explaining how the movement believed he was targeted because of its campaign to get undocumented migrants to leave the country.

He said other leaders of March and March, which has been organising anti-migrant demonstrations across the country, had recently received warnings or death threats. "This seems like an orchestrated hitman type of killing," Dube told the 's Newsday programme, urging the authorities to get to the bottom of the matter and the intimidation the organisation was facing. Acting police chief Lt Gen Puleng Dimpane has announced a multidisciplinary team to investigate the shooting, which he said underscored the seriousness with which the service was treating the case.

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"We are committed to conducting a thorough investigation to establish the circumstances surrounding this murder and to ensure accountability," he said in statement on Tuesday evening. Image source, March and MarchImage caption, Andile Mvuyelwa Somgxada was shot in the driveway of his home earlier in JulyImmigration - especially undocumented migration - has become a highly contentious political issue in South Africa, with protesters accusing them of placing pressure on public services, as well as being involved in crime. March and March had set an unofficial deadline of 30 June for all migrants without papers to leave the country.

Protesters have promised to stage weekly marches until their demands are met. The South African government has said more than 53,000 foreign nationals have been deported or repatriated since it launched a "migration management" campaign five weeks ago. Xenophobia has long been an issue in South Africa, which is Africa's wealthiest nation and has long attracted migrants searching for better economic opportunities.

It has sometimes led to violence - and this current round of demonstrations has seen violence, intimidation and looting. On Tuesday, five people were arrested in Limpopo province for allegedly impersonating immigration officers and unlawfully demanding foreign nationals leave the country. The police said the incident involved a Nigerian national - who was legally in South Africa - being intimidated and forced to close his business by the suspects.

The story has become one of the most prominent items on the global agenda.