ICC Confirms Receipt Of Petition By Two Ghanaians Over Xenophobic Attacks In South Africa

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has confirmed receiving a petition from two Ghanaians requesting a preliminary examination into recurring xenophobic attacks and alleged crimes against humanity in South Africa.

The communication was submitted to the Office of the Prosecutor on 15 July 2026 by former Government Spokesperson on Governance and Security Dr. Palgrave Boakye-Danquah and counter-terrorism and security analyst Emmanuel Kotin of the Africa Centre for Security and Counter Terrorism.

The ICC’s acknowledgement shows the submission has been assigned ID 85af1b23-2bb1-481c-ac64-5cb02c7c3524.

In the petition, the two Ghanaians urge the ICC Prosecutor to begin a preliminary examination into what they describe as widespread and systematic xenophobic attacks against foreign nationals, particularly African migrants, in South Africa.

They argue that the alleged violence, spanning from 2015 to 2026, has included unlawful killings, destruction of property, looting, forced displacement, physical assaults, torture, and hate speech.  

The petition further alleges that South African authorities have failed to adequately prevent the attacks, protect victims, or prosecute those responsible.

It contends that the alleged acts could amount to crimes against humanity under Article 7 of the Rome Statute and also invokes Article 28 on command responsibility, alleging that senior state officials failed to prevent or punish the crimes.

Among the requests made to the Office of the Prosecutor are the commencement of a preliminary examination, the questioning of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and other state officials over possible command responsibility, and the opening of a formal investigation if there is a reasonable basis to believe crimes within the ICC’s jurisdiction have been committed.