A Ghanaian tailor has been shot dead in Cape Town, South Africa, during violent anti-immigration protests, the Ghana High Commission in South Africa has confirmed.
The victim, who reportedly lived and worked in South Africa for nearly two decades, was inside his tailoring shop when he was shot on Tuesday, June 30, 2026, as demonstrations targeting foreign nationals turned violent.
According to the Ghana High Commission, the deceased is survived by three children, with the eldest said to be 10 years old. The mission disclosed that arrangements are underway to repatriate his body to Ghana for burial and other customary family rites.
The killing comes against the backdrop of escalating anti-immigration demonstrations across South Africa, where foreign nationals and their businesses have increasingly come under attack.
Tuesday’s nationwide protests were organised around a self-imposed “30 June deadline” declared by the civic group March and March, led by Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma. The group had, in December 2025, called on undocumented foreign nationals to leave South Africa.
The demonstrations spread across all nine provinces, with more than 20 civic organisations participating. In Johannesburg’s central business district, protesters confronted several people they suspected to be foreign nationals, although some bystanders intervened to protect a small group from assault and escorted them to safety.
Ahead of the protests, South African authorities mounted a large-scale security operation, deploying additional security personnel, cancelling police leave and placing the South African National Defence Force on standby to contain any possible violence.
President Cyril Ramaphosa had earlier appealed for calm, stating that while citizens had a constitutional right to protest peacefully, violence against individuals or communities “would not be justified under any circumstances.”
Human rights organisations have in recent weeks documented a series of xenophobic attacks allegedly linked to anti-immigration vigilante groups. The attacks include the reported killings of Mozambican nationals in Mossel Bay and a Malawian man in Pietermaritzburg, prompting some African countries to begin evacuating their nationals from South Africa.
South African authorities have not yet released detailed information on the circumstances surrounding the Ghanaian’s death or confirmed whether any arrests have been made.
The Ghana High Commission says it is engaging South African authorities to ensure a full investigation into the killing while providing the necessary support to the victim’s family during the repatriation process.
