27/04/2026
What is happening in South Africa right now is deeply disturbing to me. It is more than just isolated incidents. It feels like a betrayal of history, of memory, and of the very idea of African unity that so many before us fought for.
To see a Ghanaian man being singled out, harassed, and told to go back and build his own country is painful. It forces us to confront something uncomfortable. Have we really forgotten where we came from and how we got here?
Ghana did not stand on the sidelines during the era of Apartheid. Under Kwame Nkrumah, our country became one of the strongest voices on the continent against that system. Ghana provided political backing, hosted liberation movements, and supported the African National Congress in exile.
There are well documented accounts of Ghana offering travel documents and safe passage to South African freedom fighters at a time when they were being hunted and restricted globally. Ghana also contributed financially through continental and diplomatic channels, including support routed through the Organisation of African Unity Liberation Committee, which collectively mobilized millions of dollars over time to sustain liberation struggles across Southern Africa.
Even after independence, Ghana consistently used its voice, its diplomatic weight, and its resources to push for sanctions and global isolation of the apartheid regime. This was not symbolic support. It came with real cost.
So it is difficult to ignore the contrast today.
South African companies are deeply embedded in Ghana’s economy and are doing extremely well.
MTN Group Ghana alone generates roughly 20 to 25 billion Ghana cedis annually in revenue, translating to well over 1.5 billion dollars.
AngloGold Ashanti operates major mines like Obuasi and Iduapriem, contributing hundreds of millions of dollars in annual output linked to Ghana.
Absa Group Ghana is a strong banking player generating hundreds of millions of cedis yearly.
Across telecoms, mining, banking, and media, South African linked businesses are realistically generating between 2.5 and 4 billion dollars annually from Ghana’s economy.
And yet, instead of directing anger toward inequality, structural economic imbalance, or the global systems that continue to extract from Africa, we are seeing Africans turn on Africans.
A big question from me to my black South Africans is this why the deflection?? The apartheid orchestrator’s that r***d, killed and stole your lands are right there in your yard but you would rather deflect? Is that a Stockholm syndrome??
I experienced something that stayed with me years ago. In 2019, I visited Cape Town SA . What was meant to be a simple trip left me unsettled. I had met a Mozambican taxi driver at the airport who became my guide throughout my stay. One day, we drove from the city to Cape of Good Hope. It was a short trip, just a few hours there and back, but within that same stretch and timeframe, we heard of multiple incidents. People had been harassed, others kidnapped, and there was even a report of a killing along that route.
That experience shook me. It made me question not just safety, but the deeper social climate. It felt like a country still carrying unresolved trauma, where the violence of the past has not been fully confronted or healed. I call it a colossal therapy gap!
And that is the part that should worry all of us.
Because this is exactly how divide and conquer works. It does not always come from outside anymore. Sometimes it lives in how we think, how we react, and who we choose to blame.
At the same time, leadership matters. It is important to acknowledge that Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa did not sit idle. He promptly summoned the South African High Commissioner to demand answers and register Ghana’s strong concern. That kind of swift diplomatic response must be recognized and encouraged.
But beyond governments, this is a continental mindset issue.
Why are we comfortable allowing wealth to leave our economies without question, but quick to reject our own people?
Why are we not building systems where Africans own these industries and control their outcomes? Sam Dzata George
This is not about attacking South Africa. It is about calling for awareness across the continent. It is about reminding ourselves that the struggle was never meant to end in division.
We cannot keep preaching unity in theory and practicing hostility in reality.
Xenophobia against fellow Africans is not strength. It is a weakness we have inherited and failed to unlearn.
It is time to confront it honestly. African Union
Because if we do not, then we are not just failing each other. We are failing the very legacy of those who sacrificed everything so that Africa could stand together. Nelson Mandela DR KWAME NKRUMAH UNITED WE STAND!! AND DIVIDED WE LOSE!!
YP🇬🇭
NB: This is not to incite violence or tit for that! But for educational and practicality purposes!
Pare Writes ...
