Protestors hold branches and sticks during a protest march against undocumented migrants organised by “March and March” in Johannesburg on April 29, 2026.
JOHANNESBURG - Two Ghanaians have petitioned the International Criminal Court to investigate "repeated xenophobic attacks" in South Africa.
Pretoria has dismissed the move as "opportunistic".
South Africa, which has long drawn documented and undocumented African workers, has been rocked by weeks of protests and unrest targeting undocumented migrants.
In a petition submitted to the ICC on July 15, Palgrave Boakye-Danquah, a former Ghanaian government spokesperson, and a counterterrorism analyst, Emmanuel Kotin, alleged that South African authorities had "failed" to protect foreign nationals from "unlawful killings" and "hate speech".
Earlier this month, Ghana postponed a planned visit by President Cyril Ramaphosa to Accra following the death of a Ghanaian national, although South African authorities said the killing was not linked to the anti-immigrant protests.
"We allege that there has been a failure of state authorities to prevent, investigate, and prosecute these acts, amounting to acquiescence and potential state responsibility," they said in the petition.
A South African government spokesman, Chrispin Phiri, said the petition did not meet the threshold for an ICC investigation, adding that the country has laws to punish "hate crimes and hate speech".
Earlier this week, Ramaphosa sent International Relations and Cooperation Minister Ronald Lamola to meet Ghana's President John Mahama.
Mahama said he told him that Ghana has "no ill will toward South Africa" but remained "deeply concerned" about the attacks and "significant capital losses" by Africans affected by the violence.
- AFP