Ghana halts visit by South African president amid row over anti-migrant protests

Ghana has postponed a visit by South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa following xenophobic rallies that resulted in hundreds of Ghanaians being repatriated from his country.

Ramaphosa had long planned a visit to Ghana in the first week of August, and it had been hoped this would help de-escalate tensions between the two nations.

But many in Ghana feared his presence would lead to mass protests there. On Tuesday, government spokesman Felix Kwakye Ofosu told the BBC the visit would not happen for the time being.

”We sent them a communication indicating that it would be best to defer the visit in view of the present climate around xenophobia,” he explained.

South Africa has sought to play things down, with presidential spokesman Vincent Magwenya telling the BBC of the country’s unwavering commitment to “deepening cooperation” between the “two sister nations” and “advancing the African Agenda”.