Lawyer Martin Kpebu has accused South African authorities of being complicit in the attacks on foreign nationals by South African youth.
To the extent that the South African authorities are not addressing the matter, Kpebu said, they remain complicit in the attacks.
“When we started repatriating our citizens, they were happy. What did they do? They did nothing. As for complicity, they are,” Kpebu said on the Key Points on TV3 Saturday, July 4.
Mr Kpebu said this to buttress a point by another private legal practitioner, Kofi Bentil, who also called on the Government of Ghana to suspend diplomatic relations with South Africa if they do not arrest the killers of the Ghanaian within three months.
He says that Ghana cannot pretend to be friends with a country that is killing its citizens.
“I think they are complicit; they clearly don’t want to get to the bottom of this matter
“We need to arrest, or else we will suspend diplomatic relations with you. It doesn’t make sense to be friends with someone killing you.
“Give them 3 months to arrest the killers of a Ghanaian; otherwise, suspend diplomatic relations with them,” he also said on the Key Points on TV3 Saturday, July 4.
The High Commissioner of Ghana to South Africa, His Excellency Benjamin Anani Quashie has said that the Ghanaian who was killed in South Africa in the ongoing xenophobic attacks was working with a Zimbabwean when the incident happened.
Contrary to claims by the South African Police that the Ghanaian was killed in an extortion, the High Commissioner said that based on an eyewitness account from the Zimbabwean, the incident was not extortion; rather, it was a case of South Africans stampeding them in the shop to drive them away.
Benjamin Quashie further said that they have been looking for the Zimbabwean to come in to testify as the matter is taken up by Ghanaian authorities; however, out of fear, he has also absconded.
“The deceased was working with one Zimbabwean; the two of them were working in a shop when the incident happened. He has also absconded because he is afraid.
“The crime has been committed. the man has been killed in cold blood; it was not a case of extortion; it was a case of people coming to tell them to leave the country,” he said on the Key Points on TV3 Saturday, July 4.
Earlier, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that it received with profound shock and sadness reports of the fatal shooting of a Ghanaian national, Mr. Bashiru Isak, aged 40 years in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, South Africa, on Monday, 30th June, 2026 during anti- immigrant demonstrations linked to ongoing xenophobic attacks.
The Government of Ghana, in the statement issued by the Ministry, condemned, in the strongest terms, this “senseless act of violence and the rising tide of xenophobia targeting African nationals,” including Ghanaians, in South Africa.
The statement said that the taking of any life is unacceptable and those responsible must be brought to justice without delay.
On the instructions of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ghana High Commission in Pretoria has formally registered Ghana’s protest with the Department of International Relations and Cooperation, and has subsequently filed a complaint with the South African Police Service.
The Ministry said these steps were carried out after having confirmed the identity of the deceased and notified the bereaved family.
At the request of the Government of Ghana, an autopsy has since been performed on the body, it said.
“Ghana demands from the South African authorities a full, transparent and expedited investigation leading to the arrest and prosecution of the perpetrators. We also reiterate our call on the South African authorities to ensure enhanced protection for all Ghanaian nationals in affected communities.
“The Ministry, through its High Commission in Pretoria, has formally registered Ghana’s protest to the South African authorities and has reiterated our expectation that, South Africa, in line with its international obligations, will guarantee the safety, dignity and rights of all foreign nationals on its territory, including Ghanaians,” the statement said.
It would be recalled that Ghana has already transmitted a petition to the African Union Commission (AUC). Our formal petition on xenophobic attacks against African nationals in South Africa remains active and “we expect the AU to treat the matter with the urgency it demands at its next statutory meeting.”
