Legal practitioner Martin Kpebu says South African President Cyril Ramaphosa must be held accountable for the xenophobic attacks that triggered Ghana’s evacuation of citizens from the country.
Speaking on TV3’s Key Points on Saturday, Kpebu blamed the violence on a failure of leadership and said South African authorities should pay for it. He said Cyril Ramaphosa “has to be brought to book.”
Kwasi Kwarteng, a member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) communications team, linked the attacks to systemic failures, arguing that South Africa scapegoats foreign black nationals for unresolved joblessness and housing problems. He said the country’s structural challenges would remain even if every foreigner left.
International relations expert Professor Lord Mawuko-Yevugah said South African leaders had done little to end what had become an almost annual problem. He called it a difficult moment for the African Union, which he said should bring South African authorities and African envoys together to explain the situation.
The comments follow Ghana’s evacuation of citizens amid renewed hostility toward foreign nationals. The first batch of about 300 people landed at Accra’s airport on Wednesday, 27 May, aboard a chartered Ethiopian Airlines flight.
Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa and the Chief of Staff received the returnees, while the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) provided relief items. The government has promised financial support and reintegration help, and Ablakwa said more flights would follow next week.
About 800 Ghanaians in total had registered to leave, and an earlier start was pushed back by a few days as registrations climbed. South Africa has seen recurring waves of anti-foreigner violence, with major episodes in 2008, 2015 and 2019.
