Ghana demands autopsy report on slain citizen in South Africa – High Commissioner

Ghana’s High Commissioner to South Africa, Benjamin Anani Quashie, has disclosed that the mission is awaiting the official autopsy report and full case file on the Ghanaian citizen who was killed.

According to him, initial information received through police correspondence suggested one timeline, which was later revised by forensic findings indicating a different date.

Speaking on TV3’s Keypoints on Saturday, July 4, 2026, Quashie said the inconsistencies from South African authorities have prompted the mission to seek verification through official documentation.

He explained that the mission has requested copies of the autopsy report and investigative file to confirm the updated forensic details and ensure proper coordination with Ghana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

He further noted that at the early stages of the incident, there were questions around whether an autopsy would be conducted due to the deceased’s reported Muslim background.

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According to him, Ghana’s Foreign Ministry engaged the family, who approved the procedure to proceed in line with their wishes and religious considerations. The autopsy was subsequently conducted, but the report is yet to be released.

"As I speak now, they've not given us any of those. They've indicated to us that they'll be sending it directly to our Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which for us is strange because we are here; we demand a copy of the autopsy report," he stated.

Quashie also stated that witness accounts, including statements attributed to a Zimbabwean national who was present at the scene, suggest that multiple individuals may have been involved in the incident.

"We want to put on record that the crime, as we speak, has been committed. The gentleman was murdered in cold blood, and from witness accounts that we have had, including the Zimbabwean who was in the shop, it indicates that it was not only a case of extortion," he added.

On June 30, 2026, a 40-year-old Ghanaian tailor, Bashiru Isak, was shot and killed in the Khayelitsha township of Cape Town, South Africa.

Ghana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the killing, citing it as part of a growing wave of xenophobic violence.

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