MTN Ghana Apologises For Delayed Condemnation Of Xenophobic Attacks In South Africa

MTN Ghana’s Board Chairman, Dr Ishmael Yamson, has apologised for the company’s delayed public response to recent xenophobic attacks in South Africa targeting Ghanaians and other African nationals.

Speaking in an interview, Dr Yamson expressed regret that MTN Ghana had not issued a clearer statement earlier, despite a condemnation from the South Africa Ghana Business Chamber. 

“I apologise that we haven’t done that,” he said, noting that the company’s size and influence in Ghana created public expectations for a prompt position.

He went on to issue an unequivocal condemnation: “Let me say now here that we condemn it unreservedly. We have nothing to do with it. We dissociate ourselves from it completely.” 

Dr Yamson stressed that MTN Ghana operates as a Ghanaian corporate citizen, distinct from MTN South Africa.

He described the attacks as “bad” and said the company was “angry,” adding that South Africa cannot promote African integration while such hostility continues. At the same time, he cautioned against any retaliatory attacks on South African businesses in Ghana, arguing that such actions would ultimately harm Ghanaians.

Dr Yamson highlighted MTN Ghana’s deep local roots, including more than 120,000 Ghanaian shareholders, a workforce that is 98 percent Ghanaian, and its status as one of the country’s largest taxpayers. The company, he emphasised, operates fully under Ghanaian law.

The apology comes amid ongoing concerns over xenophobic violence in South Africa and its impact on regional relations and African nationals living there.