A group calling itself the Ghana First Alliance marched through Accra on Thursday, demanding the closure of South African-owned businesses operating in Ghana and the non-renewal of operating licences for major South African corporate interests in the country, in direct retaliation for xenophobic attacks on Ghanaian migrants in South Africa.
The demonstration, which protesters dubbed “Operation No Contract Renewal: South Africa Must Go,” drew participants carrying placards bearing messages including “Enough is Enough,” “Stop Afrophobia,” and “We are Brothers and Sisters” — a phrase that underscored the bitter irony driving the march, that the violence being protested was inflicted by one African nation against the citizens of another.
The action specifically targeted three major South African corporate presences in Ghana: MTN Ghana, the telecommunications giant; DStv, the pay television operator; and Gold Fields, which runs a significant mining operation at Tarkwa. Protesters called for investigations into the fees and business practices of these companies, immediate closure of some operations, and a government refusal to extend licences or contracts when they fall due.
Marchers moved to several symbolic locations across the capital, including the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the seat of government at Jubilee House, pressing their demands directly at the institutions with the power to act on them.
The protest follows weeks of mounting tension sparked by anti-immigration demonstrations in South Africa under the banner of a movement known as “March to March,” during which Ghanaian-owned shops were among those reported looted and attacked, with some incidents resulting in deaths. The violence prompted the Ghanaian government to launch an evacuation of its citizens still living in South Africa, with a first flight carrying 300 returnees — among them women and children — landing in Accra in late May. Authorities described it as a voluntary repatriation for those who no longer felt safe.
Those returning painted a grim picture. One evacuee told reporters he had endured repeated harassment and was relieved to be home. Another described South Africa as a place that had become, in his words, a lion’s den for Ghanaian migrants.
The Ghana First Alliance framed Thursday’s protest as a measured response to that treatment — a message that economic relationships between the two countries cannot remain business as usual while Ghanaian lives and livelihoods in South Africa are under threat.
