Two Ghanaians petition International Criminal Court over South African xenophobic attacks
via GhanaWeb2 min read
Two Ghanaian nationals, Palgrave Boakye-Danquah, a former Ghanaian government spokesperson on governance and security, and Emmanuel Kotin, a counter-terrorism and security analyst, have reportedly petitioned the International Criminal Court ICC to investigate attacks against foreign nationals in South Africa. They describe these incidents as xenophobia or Afrophobia and allege they constitute crimes against humanity. The petitioners accuse the South African government, led by President Cyril Ramaphosa, of failing to prevent these "widespread and systematic" attacks and to punish those responsible. They state that African individuals have been killed, beaten, and displaced from their homes in South Africa for years. South Africa's Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson, Chrispin Phiri, has reportedly called the petition "opportunistic," asserting that South Africa possesses a robust legal framework against discrimination. Recent months have seen renewed attacks and protests targeting foreign nationals in South Africa, often linked to concerns over unemployment, crime, and public services. These events have led to attacks, intimidation, looting, and displacement of migrants. A Ghanaian national, Bashiru Isak, was reportedly killed in Cape Town's Khayelitsha township, with Ghanaian authorities linking his death to anti-immigrant tensions, while South African authorities are investigating it as an extortion-related crime.
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