Lagos, Nigeria (CNN) Dennis Benson was taking a leisurely walk in Birchleigh, a neighborhood in the Johannesburg suburb of Kempton Park, when he spotted a poster calling for a strike on foreign businesses in the area.

The 34-year-old Nigerian entrepreneur told CNN it was then that he started making plans to leave South Africa because he knew it was about to get "bloody."

"I packed my bags and went to stay with a Nigerian friend who lives close to the airport because I knew it was going to get bloody. I have seen other protests," Benson said.

On September 2, when riots targeting several stores owned by foreigners broke out across Johannesburg, Pretoria and surrounding areas, Benson said he was only looking for an opportunity to go back home.

Looters run from a shop in Turffontein, east of Johannesburg, on September 2, 2019.

"A supermarket owned by an Ethiopian beside my apartment was looted and destroyed. The rioters even took the fridge with drinks. They were chanting that people should go back to their country," he said.