Leader of South Africa’s Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), Julius Malema, has criticised Ghana’s response to recent xenophobic attacks in South Africa.
Malema, in an interview on May 28, 2026, argues that the evacuation of Ghanaians created the impression that all South Africans support the attacks.
According to him, the actions of a section of society should not be used to judge the entire country.
“The Ghana response was not necessary because it now creates an impression that we are all like that when it is a certain section of our society that needs to be contained by law enforcement,” he said.
He acknowledged concerns raised by some Ghanaians living in South Africa, especially complaints about the conduct of the police during the attacks.
He, however, contended that Ghana should have allowed South African authorities more time to deal with the situation before evacuating its citizens.
“And one Ghanaian lady was saying, ‘you see the problem is, and I wouldn’t have taken this option, the problem is we’re being beaten in front of the police, and the police are not doing anything. That’s a problem. And when this opportunity came for me to leave, I left because if the police can’t defend me, it means the state is in agreement with the people who are beating me’.
“So, we think it was too quick, we will still resolve this, and the president of Ghana should have given us some time to really deal with this matter and we’ll get to the bottom of it. We hope they will come back to their senses,” he said.
He further called for diplomatic engagement between the two countries instead of actions that could increase tensions.
“We don’t have to respond the same way they did. We need to pursue the diplomatic engagements with Ghana until we find one another. We don’t think Ghana responded in a manner that really reinforces dialogue and diplomatic engagement,” he added.
His comments follow the evacuation of 300 Ghanaians from South Africa by the government of Ghana after reports of attacks on foreign nationals.
