A diplomatic row has erupted between South Africa and Ghana over claims that a Ghanaian man was killed during anti-migrant protests, which South African officials deny.
Ghana’s Foreign Ministry Responds
Ghana’s Foreign Affairs ministry said it had received with ‘profound shock’ reports that Bashiru Isak, 40, had been shot dead on Tuesday in Cape Town’s Khayelitsha’s township. It said it had sent a formal protest note and filed a complaint with the police.
South African Response
South Africa’s justice minister responded by expressing concern ‘that Ghanaian authorities continue to communicate false information about South Africa regarding developments on irregular migration’.
Investigation Underway
The police said they had ‘no record of the Khayelitsha murder’. They did say they were investigating the killing, a day earlier, of 35-year-old Ghanaian Kwabena Boagen allegedly in extortion-linked crime in a different Cape Town township, Nyanga.
Anti-Migrant Protests and Repatriations
South African anti-migrant groups set an unofficial deadline for undocumented foreigners to leave the country, leading to protests and thousands of repatriations from African countries like Ghana, Malawi, and Nigeria.
The police said Tuesday’s protests were largely peaceful, with around 900 arrests mostly related to immigration violations and looting.
