Afrophobic attacks: South African firms in Ghana must pay for citizen evacuations - Kofi Bentil

Kofi Bentil is demanding that South African multinational corporate entities operating in Ghana be forced to financially absorb the cost of evacuating Ghanaian nationals fleeing targeted afrophobic attacks in South Africa. Mr. Bentil argued that the state should no longer single-handedly shoulder the massive fiscal burden of emergency repatriations while South African commercial entities comfortably repatriate billions of dollars in profits from the Ghanaian market. He stated, "Companies that make billions across Africa cannot remain silent when Africans are attacked in their home country. What the government is doing comes at a cost. They must bear part of the cost."

Mr. Bentil advocated for tougher measures against Pretoria, insisting that repeated failures to protect Ghanaian migrants should be treated as a direct, hostile infringement on Ghana. He asserted, "When citizens of a country are under attack, the country itself is under attack." He commended the Ghanaian government's rapid efforts to evacuate affected citizens and revealed he had previously advised state authorities to swiftly organise emergency airlift flights. Mr. Bentil dismissed arguments justifying the violence by focusing on the irregular immigration status of some victims, arguing, "If anybody enters your territory, you have a responsibility to protect that person."

Speaking on TV3 on Saturday, May 30, 2026, Mr. Bentil described the pogroms as evidence of a systemic failure by South African authorities to address xenophobia.