|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Ghana’s High Commissioner to South Africa, Benjamin Quarshie, has issued a stern warning to South Africans targeting Ghana’s President and Foreign Affairs Minister with offensive language, urging respect for Ghanaian leaders.
Speaking to DW Africa amid the ongoing repatriation of Ghanaians following xenophobic attacks in South Africa, Quarshie described the behavior as “deeply troubling,” especially coming from individuals he said “should know better.”
“You hear people in South Africa, people that should know better, using very unprintable words on our President and the Foreign Affairs Minister,” he said. “Let me sound a word of caution — it is not that we are timid or powerless; we could respond in kind if we chose to.”
While acknowledging that South Africans have the right to express themselves within their own country, Quarshie drew a clear line regarding attacks on Ghana’s leadership.
“You can do whatever you want in South Africa, but we beg them — don’t bring our President into this,” he warned.
He noted that continued provocation could challenge Ghana’s diplomatic patience, emphasizing that Accra has chosen dialogue over retaliation. “It will get to a point that when Ghanaians want to respond in the same manner, we may not be able to stop them,” he said.
Quarshie also referenced similar insults aimed at South African President Cyril Ramaphosa but insisted that Ghanaian leaders must remain off-limits.
“We are taught civically to respect authority, and that is exactly why we have remained calm — and why we want to resolve this diplomatically,” he added.
The remarks come as Ghana repatriates nationals affected by the recent wave of xenophobic violence across parts of South Africa.
Story by Efua Nessa