Ghanaian woman in ICU after brutal assault by South Africans – High Commissioner

Ghana's High Commissioner to South Africa, Benjamin Quarshie, has revealed that a Ghanaian woman is currently battling for her life in an intensive care unit (ICU) after allegedly being assaulted by South Africans.

According to him, the woman was attacked after refusing to hand over money to individuals who had approached her shop and demanded to see her documentation.

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Speaking on the ongoing evacuation of Ghanaians from South Africa amid recent xenophobic attacks on Joy Prime on June 3, 2026, the High Commissioner said the government's decision to repatriate affected citizens was not taken lightly.

“There's a Ghanaian that has been in ICU till now beaten to pulp by this South Africans. They went to her shop, asked for her documentation, she gave them the documentation. Then they said, ‘give us money’. She said, ‘no, but you asked for documentation. I've showed you the documentation’. They said, ‘why are you questioning us?’ She was beaten to pulp, and is struggling for her life as we speak in ICU,” he said.

He stressed that incidents such as this informed the government's decision to evacuate Ghanaians from the country.

“So, it's not been a decision that was lightly taken. It's a decision that a lot went into before that decision was taken and we think that sitting at the High Commission in Pretoria, I believe that this is the best thing that government has to do and government is doing,” he added.

Quarshie also provided details on the second batch of the evacuation exercise, stating that two flights had been arranged to bring affected Ghanaians home.

“We have two flights, first flight will be actually at 11am on Saturday, and then the second flight will move on Sunday at 5am,” he revealed.

He disclosed that nearly 700 Ghanaians were expected to be repatriated under the current phase of the exercise.

According to him, due to the large number of evacuees, the High Commission was unable to provide accommodation for everyone.

However, Ghanaian businesses and churches in South Africa stepped in to support those affected.

“So, what has happened is that because the numbers are huge, we are coming home with almost about 700 of them, we didn't provide them with accommodation, but we are so happy that the Ghanaian businesses in South Africa, the Ghanaian churches offered to accommodate them,” he stated.

Quarshie added that the mission has been providing meals and other support services to the evacuees while arrangements for their return continue.

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“What we are doing is to give them three square meals a day, make sure we take care of their needs when it comes to those of their kids and others. We've done that religiously till now, and we are hoping that once this process closes, we will forge ahead with the second phase of whatever we want to do,” he said.

The first phase of the evacuation exercise saw the return of 300 Ghanaians living in South Africa to their families, following a wave of xenophobic attacks on foreign nationals.

There is a Ghanaian in the ICU. She was beaten by South Africans after she refused to give them money, even after showing them her documentation - H.E. Benjamin Quarshie, Ghana’s High Commissioner to South Africa #PrimeMorning pic.twitter.com/LUcunhUD1g

— Joy Prime (@JoyPrimeTV) June 3, 2026

We are looking at repatriating nearly 700 people on Saturday and Sunday. While we did not provide accommodation, we are grateful that Ghanaian businesses and churches have stepped in to host them — H.E. Benjamin Quarshie, Ghana’s High Commissioner to South Africa #PrimeMorning pic.twitter.com/WSJX0yjycy

— Joy Prime (@JoyPrimeTV) June 3, 2026