By Boakye Stephen, Kumasi, Ghana | Reporting for Ghanaian News, Canada | April 26, 2026
A growing wave of frustration is emerging among Ghanaian diplomatic voices as renewed xenophobic attacks in South Africa continue to spark outrage across the continent.
Former Ghana High Commissioner to South Africa, Charles Owiredu, has strongly criticised what he describes as a pattern of symbolic responses without tangible results, following yet another official statement from South Africa’s Police Ministry.
In its response, the Ministry stated:
“The Ministry of Police strongly condemns the recent xenophobic acts of violence and intimidation directed at Ghanaian nationals and other foreign nationals within the Republic of South Africa.”
However, Owiredu argues that such statements have become routine and ineffective, failing to address the root causes of the violence.
“What I see now is that it is not enough for the Ministry of Police to issue a statement and say they are condemning it and having a joint statement with our foreign minister, it doesn’t help because it has never helped the solution,” he added.
A Cycle of Words Without Consequences
From an investigative standpoint, this situation reveals a troubling cycle:
Violence occurs
Authorities condemn it
Diplomatic reassurances follow
Yet attacks resurface repeatedly
This raises a critical question: Are these condemnations merely diplomatic rituals rather than enforcement commitments?
Owiredu pushes for a shift from rhetoric to coordinated continental action:
“What the High Commissioner needs to do now is to involve the other ECOWAS Ambassadors and then get the AU. Because this is not peculiar to Ghana alone. What is happening is not only directed at Ghanaians; all other countries are faced with this.”
Continental Implications
This is no longer a bilateral issue, it is an African crisis.
The continued targeting of foreign nationals undermines:
African Union integration goals
ECOWAS cooperation principles
The very idea of Pan-African unity
Commentary (Boakye Stephen)
If Africa cannot protect Africans within Africa, then the dream of continental unity risks becoming a political slogan without substance.
Statements alone do not stop violence, systems do, enforcement does, accountability does.
