Four Ghanaians Found Dead In South Africa, Baby Included — Foreign Minister

Ms Hannah Tetteh – Minister of Foreign Affairs (Image source: Ghana Business News)

Four Ghanaians have been found dead in Heibron, Free State, South Africa, according to a Tweet from Ghana’s Foreign Minister, Hannah Tetteh.

Ghana Business News reports the four, one man, two women and a baby were found dead in a salon, the Minister wrote quoting the Ghana High Commission in South Africa, adding that the cause of deaths are not known.

The Minister indicated that the salon was locked and the police had to break in to gain access and when the bodies were found, they were all foaming at the mouth, she wrote.

The bodies have been removed for post-mortem examinations, she said, adding that the Ghana High Commission has reported no xenophobic attacks in Heibron.

Ghana’s Foreign Minister's tweet

In recent times there has been a rise in xenophobic attacks in South Africa, particularly in Durban and Johannesburg in which about six people have been reported killed, one of them a South African teenager.

The attacks on foreigners, mostly other Africans is said to be triggered by a statement by Zulu king, Goodwill Zwelithini, who is reported to have said all foreigners should pack and leave South Africa.

A similar incendiary statement has been attributed to South African President, Jacob Zuma’s son, Edward Zuma told the media foreigners must leave the country.

In a statement condemning the xenophobic attacks, Ghanaian President, and ECOWAS Chair, John Mahama said on Friday, “It is a pity that the very people, whose nations sacrificed to help South Africans fight, repel and defeat apartheid, will today be considered aliens and hacked to death in such barbaric manners.”

Meanwhile, President Zuma has cancelled an official trip to Indonesia to attend the Afro-Asia Summit to deal with the violence, and police presence has been increased in the areas prone to the attacks.