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South Africa’s Foreign Minister Ronald Lamola has issued a blistering rebuke against Ghana following a “deeply disappointing” media interview, accusing the country of spreading outright misinformation and violating diplomatic decorum during the ongoing wave of anti-immigrant attacks.
The South African government directly refuted claims that the violence had claimed the lives of two Nigerians and five Mozambicans.
Officials clarified that no Nigerian national has died in the current unrest and that police are currently investigating the deaths of two Mozambican nationals, rather than five.
South Africa expressed deep regret over those two deaths and conveyed sincere condolences to the government and people of Mozambique.
In a statement posted on X on Saturday, Lamola expressed bewilderment over claims by the Ghanaian High Commissioner that 15 Ghanaians are currently hospitalised.
South African authorities stated they have received no such information, noting that the High Commissioner failed to share any data with them regarding those individuals or even a single victim previously mentioned in media appearances.
Additionally, South Africa dismissed threats of a “nuclear default” against South African companies operating in Ghana.
The foreign minister revealed that the new Ghanaian administration had already made operating conditions untenable for South African businesses months ago, prompting a formal letter of complaint that South Africa is now prepared to publish if Ghana denies its existence.
A deeply disappointing interview, replete with misinformation.
First, the claim that two Nigerians have been killed during the current wave of attacks remains entirely unsubstantiated by available information.
No Nigerian National
has been killed during the current waves of… https://t.co/mlkbMiJiAd pic.twitter.com/RxjJWB0OmL— Minister: International Relations and Cooperation (@RonaldLamola) June 6, 2026
South Africa further exposed discrepancies regarding a May 27 repatriation flight carrying 300 individuals.
While South Africa’s Immigration Inspectorate provided 25 individuals from its deportation facility, the Ghanaian High Commissioner brought the remaining 275 travellers.
A Border Management Authority check revealed that approximately 90 per cent of those 275 individuals were completely undocumented, forcing the Ghanaian Embassy to issue them single-page emergency travel certificates.
Furthermore, authorities discovered that most of these travellers had overstayed their visas by more than 30 days, with some overstaying by a year or more.
Warning that South Africa will vigorously defend itself against any baseless lawsuits from Ghana, the foreign minister stated that the government will no longer tolerate “public spectacles” devoid of diplomatic decorum.
While reinforcing South Africa’s commitment to regional integration and migration dialogues, the statement took a sharp jab at Ghana’s own record.
It noted that Ghana has invaluable lessons to impart after being on both ends of migrant hostility, including how Accra manages social tensions while exclusively reserving business sectors for its own citizens—the very sectors where Ghanaians thrive in South Africa.
The ministry closed by reiterating that violence against migrants violates South Africa’s constitutional order, promising to uphold a democracy where no one suffers discrimination based on nationality.
