South Africa Accuses Ghana and Nigeria of Campaign to Isolate Pretoria Over Xenophobia
- South Africa's presidency named Ghana as the primary driver of a campaign to portray Pretoria as a pariah state over anti-immigrant violence
- Presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya accused a top official of spreading false information about the treatment of Ghanaian nationals
- Pretoria dismissed calls from some African lawmakers to nationalise South African company assets, warning such moves would signal those countries were closed for business
Don't miss out! Get your daily dose of sports news straight to your phone. Join YEN's Sports News channel on WhatsApp now!
South Africa has formally accused Ghana and Nigeria of orchestrating a deliberate effort to isolate Pretoria internationally, framing legitimate criticism over xenophobic violence as a coordinated diplomatic attack.
Vincent Magwenya, the spokesperson for President Cyril Ramaphosa, accused at a media briefing in Pretoria on July 15, stating that the campaign sought to brand South Africa as a pariah state that should face international courts.
Source: Getty Images
Daily Maverick reported that he said the effort persisted despite multiple official government statements condemning vigilante attacks on foreign nationals and reaffirming South Africa's constitutional obligations.
When pressed to identify the countries involved, Magwenya said the campaign was being "primarily driven by Ghana and to a lesser extent Nigeria."
He accused a diplomatic representative of one of those countries of deliberately misrepresenting routine diplomatic exchanges to create the impression of isolation, adding that Pretoria had raised these concerns directly with Ghanaian High Commissioner Benjamin Quashie.
"The high commissioner needs to put in an effort in verifying the information he puts out," Magwenya said. He also referenced Ghanaian Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa by name, suggesting there was dissatisfaction with both figures within certain quarters of Ghana's own parliament.
The briefing touched on the postponement of a South Africa-Ghana Binational Commission meeting, which Ghana attributed to the ongoing attacks on its citizens, while Pretoria insisted the delay was due to a scheduling conflict.
Nationalisation Threat Dismissed
Responding to questions about calls from some Nigerian and Ghanaian lawmakers to nationalise South African business assets as punishment, Magwenya was unequivocal.
He said there was "no reason whatsoever" that Ghana would pursue such a course and warned that appropriating foreign company assets would effectively signal those countries were closed for trade and investment.
He pointed to the mutual economic benefit of existing arrangements, noting that the vast majority of employees at South African telecoms company MTN in Ghana were Ghanaian nationals.
Ramaphosa's Diplomatic Activity Cited
Magwenya rejected the notion that South Africa was losing standing on the continent. He cited a range of President Ramaphosa's recent engagements, including a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris, co-chairing a UNESCO education steering committee, and separate conversations with the presidents of Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
On Ghana's push to have xenophobia in South Africa placed on the agenda of the African Union's mid-term summit in Egypt in October, Magwenya said Pretoria had no information confirming the issue had been included.
"As far as we know, there's no issue on the AU agenda on the so-called xenophobia, even though there is no xenophobia," he said.
He confirmed that Ramaphosa's previously announced team of envoys, tasked with explaining South Africa's position on illegal migration to other African nations, was still being prepared for deployment, with administrative processes described as the remaining hurdle before their dispatch.
Row over Ramaphosa visit to Ghana
YEN.com.gh reported that the South African Presidency dismissed reports of a diplomatic rift with Ghana over a proposed visit from Cyril Ramaphosa.
A presidential spokesperson explained the extent of correspondence between the two countries amid rumours that went viral.
South Africa said both countries would continue discussions through diplomatic channels to agree on the next BNC session.
Source: YEN.com.gh
