Cape Town: South African police on Thursday rejected claims by Ghana’s foreign ministry that the killing of a Ghanaian national in Cape Town was linked to anti-immigrant protests on June 30, saying the incident was instead being investigated as an extortion-related murder.
In a statement, the South African Police Service (SAPS) in the Western Cape said the victim was shot on Monday in Nyanga and that preliminary findings pointed to extortion as the motive, Xinhua news agency reported.
“Official crime scene reports indicate that the deceased male person, later identified as 35-year-old Mr. Kwabena Boagen, was shot at the Nyanga Terminus in front of NTG hair salon and shoe repairs at approximately 15:45 on Monday in circumstances that point to the crime of extortion by yet-to-be-arrested gunmen,” read the police statement.
He was declared dead at the scene, and a murder docket was opened for investigation by Nyanga detectives, the provincial SAPS said.
Police added that they were in contact with the victim’s relatives and expressed condolences, noting that “Nyanga detectives are hard at work investigating the murder with a view to apprehending the perpetrators.”
SAPS also disputed claims made by Ghana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs that the killing was connected to violence during anti-immigrant demonstrations that swept across the country on June 30.
“The South African Police Service bears no record of the Khayelitsha murder, hence an earnest plea is made to the authorities in question to provide details of the Khayelitsha incident to the SAPS in order for the matter to be probed further,” the statement said.
The police response came after Ghana’s foreign ministry said earlier Thursday that a 40-year-old Ghanaian, identified as Bashiru Isak, was killed during anti-immigrant demonstrations linked to xenophobic attacks in South Africa, and called for a full investigation and stronger protection for Ghanaian nationals.
“The government of Ghana condemns, in the strongest terms, this senseless act of violence and the rising tide of xenophobia targeting African nationals, including Ghanaians, in South Africa,” the ministry said in its statement.
It also urged authorities to ensure a “full, transparent, and expedited investigation” and said arrangements were underway to repatriate the body.
South African police, however, maintained that the killing occurred a day before the reported protests and in a separate location, and said it was not linked to nationwide demonstrations. They also said there was no record of a separate Khayelitsha murder case referenced in the Ghanaian statement.
(IANS)
