President John Mahama has said Ghana’s diplomatic relations with South Africa remain strong despite the recent xenophobic attacks leading to Ghanaians being evacuated.
According to John Mahama, there has been no breach in our relations with South Africa.
Speaking at Chatham House in London, during his five-day official visit to the United Kingdom, President Mahama stated, “We do not have any breach in our diplomatic relations. What happened was that it’s not the first time there have been these xenophobic attacks in South Africa”.
“They say we shouldn’t call it xenophobia. I don’t know what else or what name you can give it. But there have been these surges in anti-foreign attacks.”
“Lately, Ghanaians have gotten involved. This is the first time we’ve really had Ghanaians getting a part of the direction of attacks,” he said.
He added, “And if you were not South African, you were asked to leave the hospital. Even if you were ill, it created a very toxic atmosphere. At this point, we had nearly 200 of our citizens in our embassy”.
“It didn’t look like the South African authorities were doing anything to try to quell what was happening and also to provide protection to those who had been displaced,” he said.
“And so we did the first evacuation flight. We’re going to do two more to take those who want to leave. It is voluntary. We asked, “Do you want to stay or leave?” And many of them say they feel threatened. And so they want to leave.”
President Mahama further added, “I think it’s unfortunate what is happening in South Africa. We need to drill down to what causes these flare-ups in terms of xenophobia. And so all of us must empathise with South Africa or must sympathise with South Africa”.
“And we must help South Africa to be able to drill down and find out what it can do to reduce unemployment rates amongst the black populations. After the last fellow African leaves, is it going to change unemployment among blacks in South Africa?” he asked.
“After the last shop has been closed and everybody has left, will it change unemployment in South Africa? And everybody brings some advantage. They either bring their knowledge or they bring investments,” he said.
“And I think we should get over this fear of foreigners coming into our countries.”
However, the leader of South Africa’s Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), Julius Malema, has fumed at the government of Ghana over the evacuation of 297 Ghanaians from South Africa.
According to Julius Malema, the response of the Ghanaian government was not necessary as it creates an impression that “we are all like that”.
He further argued that South Africa should not respond in the same way, saying Ghana’s approach does not reinforce dialogue and diplomatic engagement.
Speaking to the media, Julius Malema argued, “The Ghana response was not necessary; it now creates an impression that we are all like that. But it is a certain section of our society that needs to be contained by law enforcement.
One Ghanaian lady was saying I wouldn’t have taken this option, but the problem was that we are being beaten in front of the Police, and the Police are not doing anything. That is a problem. When this opportunity came for me to leave, I left.
Because if the Police cannot defend me, it means the state is in agreement with the people who are beating me”.
He added, “We will resolve this; the President of Ghana should have given us some time to deal with this matter. And we will get to the bottom of it; we hope they will come to their senses. We don’t have to respond the same way they did; we need to pursue diplomatic engagement with Ghana.
We don’t think Ghana reacted in a manner that reinforces disloyalty and diplomatic engagement; it actually creates a very bad extreme situation, which is not. It is a select few we are pursuing and persuading the government to act on those few.
They must give use sometime, and those who don’t feel safe, especially the legally documented Ghanaians, should be able to run to the police station for safety. The reaction of the government should have been postponed to give us an opportunity to deal with what is happening in South Africa”.
Watch the video below:
“It’s not the first time South Africans have displayed xenophobic behavior, but there has been no breach in our relations with them. This is the first time Ghanaians have directly experienced South Africa’s xenophobia. They say we shouldn’t call it xenophobia, but I don’t know… pic.twitter.com/edXYh5byHQ
— 𝐀𝐒𝐊 (@askghmedia) June 1, 2026
