Ghana Advises Nationals In South Africa To Stay Indoors
The Ghana High Commission in Pretoria has advised Ghanaian nationals in South Africa to shut their businesses and remain indoors as a major anti-immigrant protest gets underway in the country’s administrative capital.
In an advisory issued on Tuesday on behalf of High Commissioner Benjamin Anani Quashie, the mission urged Ghanaians, particularly those in Pretoria, to prioritise their personal safety and avoid all protest areas as a group known as the March Organisation stages a demonstration at the Union Buildings, the seat of South Africa’s presidency.
The group, led by Ms Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma, is demanding the removal of undocumented foreign nationals from South Africa.
“I urge everyone to continue exercising heightened vigilance and to place the highest priority on personal safety during this period,” the advisory stated.
Shop owners were specifically directed to close their businesses for the day. Ghanaians were also cautioned against participating in any public gatherings that could turn confrontational and were advised to maintain a low profile both in public and on social media, including refraining from sharing content that could be deemed provocative or inflammatory.
The Pretoria march is part of a series of protests planned across Gauteng Province between April 27 and 29, and follows weeks of anti-immigrant demonstrations in other parts of South Africa, including Durban, East London, Cape Town and KwaZulu-Natal, where protests turned violent, resulting in looting, property destruction and injuries.
The crisis escalated after videos circulated on social media showing foreign nationals, including Ghanaians, being harassed and confronted by protesters. In one widely shared clip, a man identified as Ghanaian was questioned by demonstrators and told to leave the country. Another showed a Ghanaian man being assaulted after failing to produce identification documents.
The incidents prompted a formal diplomatic response from Accra. Ghana’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, summoned South Africa’s envoy in Ghana and separately contacted South Africa’s International Relations Minister, Ronald Lamola, demanding immediate intervention.
South Africa’s Acting Police Minister, Firoz Cachalia, condemned the attacks, describing the violence as unlawful and a threat to the country’s constitutional principles. Pretoria subsequently pledged decisive action against perpetrators of xenophobic violence.
The High Commission said it would continue to monitor the situation and issue updates as developments unfold.