Ghana, South Africa in diplomatic row after migrant's death

Malawian undocumented migrants sit in a shaded area outside the former Durban Drive in Durban, on July 1, 2026. [AFP]

Ghana and South Africa were Thursday embroiled in fresh diplomatic spat following the killing of a migrant, a death Pretoria said was not linked to the anti-immigrant protests held in the country earlier this week.

Several thousand people marched across South Africa on Tuesday after a weeks-long campaign against undocumented immigrants peaked with an unofficial June 30 deadline for undocumented migrants to leave the country.

More than 25,000 people, including hundreds of Ghanaians, have already fled the country, according to South Africa's security forces, as African countries, repatriated their citizens in recent weeks in response to the wave of anti-immigrant protests.

Ghana's foreign ministry claimed in a statement on Wednesday that its national Bashiru Isak, 40, was shot and killed during the "anti-immigrant demonstrations linked to ongoing xenophobic attacks" in Cape Town's Khayelitsha township.

It said it had formally registered its protest to Pretoria.

But South African government's dismissed Ghana's claim on the killing as "factually incorrect" and "not based on fact."

It said "no fatalities" were recorded on the protest day which saw thousands take to the streets across parts of the country.

"It is concerning that Ghanaian authorities continue to communicate false information about South Africa regarding developments on irregular migration," South African Justice Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi was quoted in a statement.

"The spread of false information to perpetuate the false narrative that South Africa is xenophobic is unacceptable," she said.

Last month South Africa's Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola warned Ghana it would "not tolerate public spectacles characterised by incomplete information and outright misinformation devoid of any diplomatic decorum" in the evacuations of Ghanaian citizens from the country over anti-immigrant tensions.

Foreign affairs spokesman Chrispin Phiri on Thursday said on SABC broadcaster: "It is important that through the diplomatic channels we have a process that it's clear that people can consult with us before disseminating information, which in recent times, particularly from our Ghanaian counterparts, has not only been inaccurate but has also not been verifiable."

South Africa police believe the killing could have been "extortion- related", telling AFP that a 35-year-old Ghanaian with a different name from that given Ghana government, was shot at a barbershop on Monday, not Tuesday as claimed by Accra. Police also gave a different another location for the alleged incident.

"Unknown suspects entered the barbershop and demanded money from the victim before he was shot," said police.

A spokesman for Ghana's foreign ministry told AFP that Accra was standing by its statement.