Security analyst Prof. Vladimir Antwi-Danso has described South Africa’s pushback against Ghana’s account of the killing of a Ghanaian national in Cape Town as a routine diplomatic response, insisting there is nothing unusual about the exchange between the two countries.

Speaking on JoyNews’ The Pulse on Thursday, July 2, Prof Antwi-Danso said Ghana acted appropriately by demanding an investigation into the death of its citizen, while South Africa’s attempt to distance the incident from xenophobic attacks was also a predictable part of diplomatic communication.

“This is not uncommon in diplomatic communication when such things happen. If someone has been killed, a foreign national, the country demands an investigation and calls for proper things to be done.

“What Ghana did is the normal thing to do in international relations, international communication, diplomacy — calling for swift investigation, to bring perpetrators to book and to let the international community know that we are hurt by what the other country has done,” he stated.

His comments follow a sharp reaction from the South African government to statements issued by Ghana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs over the killing of a Ghanaian national in Cape Town.

In a statement issued on Thursday, July 2, South Africa’s Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Mmamoloko Kubayi, who also chairs the country’s Inter-Ministerial Committee on Migration, said Ghana’s account of the incident was “factually incorrect” and not supported by police findings.

Ghanaian authorities had earlier suggested that the Ghanaian national was fatally wounded on June 30 during anti-immigrant demonstrations linked to ongoing xenophobic attacks.

But South African authorities rejected that claim, insisting the victim was attacked at his workplace on June 29 in what police suspect was a criminal incident unrelated to any demonstrations.

According to the Western Cape Police, the deceased was shot at a barbershop in Nyanga after unknown suspects reportedly entered the premises, demanded money and shot him before fleeing the scene. Police say the motive is believed to be extortion-related, with investigations ongoing.

Reacting to the development, Prof Antwi-Danso said South Africa’s response appears aimed at dissociating the killing from xenophobic violence because of the international implications such a label carries.

“What they want to let the world know is that this incident is a robbery incident, some altercation that happened, and has nothing to do with the xenophobic attacks,” he explained.

“Certainly, this is their aim. They want to delink this incident from the xenophobic attack because xenophobic attacks have a connotation which is not accepted by the international community.”

He maintained that Ghana is entitled to demand answers and a formal report on the killing of its citizen, regardless of South Africa’s position.

Prof Antwi-Danso downplayed the likelihood of the diplomatic disagreement escalating, expressing confidence that the matter would be resolved through established diplomatic channels.

“So I don’t see anything serious about this. Nothing is going to happen out of this. Diplomacy will solve it,” he added.