Ghanaian President John Mahama has renewed his call for the African Union (AU) to take urgent action over escalating anti-immigrant violence in South Africa, warning that the attacks threaten African unity and regional integration.
In a social media post on Thursday, Mahama said placing the issue on the AU’s agenda would give South Africa an opportunity to present its position while allowing African leaders to work together on a long-term solution.
The appeal comes as South Africa faces weeks of protests and unrest targeting foreign nationals, with undocumented migrants accused by some groups of taking jobs and public resources.
According to reports, more than 160,000 foreign nationals have left South Africa in the past two months, while several people have been killed during the violence, raising concerns across the continent.
Speaking on the sidelines of an African Union meeting in Accra on Wednesday, Mahama said the South African government’s response had not matched the scale of the crisis.
“It doesn’t appear that the South African authorities are responding to the magnitude that one would expect them to,” he said.
He also claimed that those financing the attacks were known but had not been stopped, urging the AU to take a stronger interest in an issue he said could undermine years of efforts to promote African solidarity and integration.
Despite his criticism, Mahama stressed that Ghana holds “no ill will” toward South Africa.
Ghana first called for the African Union to formally discuss the violence in May. Mahama said AU Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf had agreed the issue should be considered at the bloc’s next summit, scheduled for February.
Meanwhile, two Ghanaian citizens have petitioned the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate what they describe as repeated xenophobic attacks in South Africa. South African authorities have dismissed the move as “opportunistic.”
Earlier this month, Ghana postponed a planned visit by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa after a Ghanaian national was killed in South Africa. South African officials said the death was not linked to the recent anti-immigrant violence.