Alban Bagbin is the Speaker of Parliament
Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, has recalled Ghana’s strong support for South Africa during the fight against apartheid, stressing that African countries stood together in solidarity rather than turning against one another.
Speaking at an event in a video sighted by GhanaWeb on June 2, 2026, he said African nations, including Ghana, contributed in various ways to help South Africans in their struggle for freedom under the apartheid system.
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Bagbin noted that during the struggle, Africans worked together to support the liberation movement to ensure that South Africa achieved democracy.
He made reference to his personal involvement in South Africa’s transition process, revealing that he spent months there in the early 1990s assisting in preparations for the country’s first democratic elections in 1994.
He said Africans were united in the fight against oppression and land dispossession at the time, adding that black South Africans were denied access to land and basic opportunities.
“Instead of them fighting, the people colonized and took over their land and made them slaves and we all came together and contributed and went there and fought. I went there in 1993, 1994 as a Member of Parliament. I led a delegation, I was there for months. I struggled for them to get the first election in 1994.
“We were in all the farms. Black South Africans had no land. That's when I understood and appreciated the song, Homeless. We fought for them,” he said.
Bagbin further described the hardship faced during his stay in South Africa, saying he was monitored and could not move freely due to his identity as a Black African.
He also shared an encounter where he relied on a colleague who was driving him, whom he suspected to be linked to Russian intelligence services, adding that the experience reflected the tense environment at the time.
“I couldn't sleep at night because they were trailing me because I was a black African. Luckily, I had a colleague who was driving a car, who was from Russia and I identified him as being from KGB [secret agency]. He denied, but he came and met me here in Ghana and proved that he was from that organization,” Bagbin recalled.
He said the collective effort of many individuals and countries contributed to South Africa’s eventual independence and the success of the 1994 elections.
However, he expressed concern that despite the long years of struggle, some young people in South Africa today feel little change in their conditions.
“We struggled. I was there over one month. We calculated the results and they became independent. So many years we struggled for ANC, the youth are still not seeing much difference,” he stated.
Bagbin warned that this frustration is now contributing to rising tensions and resentment against other Africans, especially over jobs and migration.
“So they start diverting their attention that it's your colleagues from the other countries in Africa. That is a problem. ‘Hey, you are coming to take our jobs? No. Go back home’. Why is that happening? Well, diplomatically we are trying to solve it,” he warned.
He said such attitudes are worrying and called for diplomatic efforts to address them.
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His comments follow recent rising xenophobic tensions in South Africa against foreign nationals.
Recently, Ghana evacuated about 300 of its citizens from South Africa, while a second batch of evacuation is currently on hold.
🇬🇭🇿🇦 Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin has recalled Ghana’s support for South Africa during the apartheid era, saying African countries stood with South Africans in their struggle for freedom rather than turning against them.
— Ghana Chronicles (@_GhChronicles) June 2, 2026
Bagbin revealed that he spent months in South Africa… pic.twitter.com/92YEitCQnj
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