A former spokesman for the government of Ghana named Palgrave Boakye-Danqah, joined by security analyst Emmanuel Kotin, has submitted a petition to the International Criminal Court asking it to investigate xenophobic attacks on foreign nationals in South Africa.
The petition was submitted to the ICC on July 15 but was not made public until a week later. The two Ghanaians, who insisted they were not acting on behalf of their government, said the widespread attacks on foreigners by anti-migrant vigilantes in South Africa could constitute crimes against humanity.
“For years, African brothers and sisters have been killed, beaten and driven from their homes in South Africa,” the petition charged.
South Africa experienced a surge of anti-migrant violence this summer as vigilante groups set a deadline of June 30 for illegal immigrants to leave the country or face unpleasant consequences. Several people were killed in riots leading up to the deadline date.
The anti-migrant demonstrators, many of whom rallied under the banner of “Dudula” – a Zulu word that means “to force out” – accused the South African government of failing to secure the borders or enforce immigration law, resulting in a tidal wave of economic migrants from neighboring countries into relatively prosperous South Africa.
In addition to taking jobs from South Africans and straining the country’s public welfare systems, the demonstrators claimed the migrants brought rampant crime, from drug abuse to racketeering. They also accused corrupt South African officials of working with migrant criminal gangs.
Roughly 160,000 migrants reportedly fled South Africa in May and June, and some other governments made efforts to assist their citizens with evacuating, including Ghana. Migrants held some counter-protests of their own, leading to clashes with police.
The South African government on Thursday dismissed the petition from the two Ghanaian nationals as “opportunistic” and said South Africa is capable of leading its own investigation.
South Africa insisted it “categorically rejects xenophobia, racism, homophobia, and intolerance and discrimination in all their manifestations,” and promised that “those who perpetrate violence or unlawful acts are held fully accountable under our judicial system.”
On Thursday, Ghana’s President John Mahama rejected South Africa’s explanations for the anti-migrant violence, and accused South Africa of doing little to bring the perpetrators to justice.
“It doesn’t appear that South African authorities are responding with the magnitude one would expect. The persons who were fanning these xenophobic attacks are known and they have been left free to continue doing what they are doing. It has become something they are doing with impunity,” he said.
“We don’t have any malice against South Africa, but we are raising it as an issue for discussion to give South Africa the opportunity to explain to the world what it is doing about xenophobic attacks,” he added.