Ghana has won the support of all 15 West African nations for its campaign to have the African Union confront the wave of xenophobic violence targeting African migrants in South Africa. The endorsement marks a major diplomatic step in a crisis that has strained relations across the continent for months.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) threw its full support behind Ghana’s petition at its 69th Ordinary Summit of the Authority of Heads of State and Government, held in Lungi, Sierra Leone, on July 19, 2026. It is the first collective backing from ECOWAS leaders since Ghana formally asked the African Union to intervene earlier this year. The move also revives an issue that South Africa kept off the agenda during an AU coordination meeting in June.
Addressing fellow leaders, President John Dramani Mahama described the attacks as a betrayal of the solidarity that united Africa during the struggle against colonial rule.
“African liberation was achieved through solidarity across our borders. We must never permit that proud legacy to be weakened by intolerance by a small group of people,” he said.
Mahama said the violence had claimed the lives of citizens from several African countries, including Ghana and Nigeria, while leaving many others living in fear.
“Ghana is deeply concerned about the recent incidents of xenophobic attacks against our citizens in South Africa, during which some Africans, including Ghanaians and Nigerian citizens, have lost their lives, while many other African nationals have experienced fear, intimidation and uncertainty,” he said.
Nigeria echoed Ghana’s call for a united continental response. President Bola Tinubu, represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima, strongly condemned the attacks on Nigerian and other African nationals and urged ECOWAS to speak with one voice.
“ECOWAS should present a united voice in this condemnation,” he said, adding that the bloc “should table the matter before the next session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the African Union.” Doing so, he said, “would send a clear message that this type of intolerance is totally unacceptable under any guise.”
Shettima also reminded leaders that South Africa’s liberation was made possible through the sacrifices of many African countries, including Nigeria.
The endorsement followed recommendations made days earlier by ECOWAS foreign ministers meeting ahead of the summit. Ghana’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, said the Council of Ministers had already given its full backing to the petition.
Ghana’s campaign began with a May 6 letter from Ablakwa urging the African Union Commission to place the recurring attacks on migrants on the agenda of its Eighth Mid-Year Coordination Meeting in Egypt and launch a fact-finding mission into the violence. That discussion never took place after South Africa blocked the issue from being considered.
With that avenue closed, Ghana and Nigeria shifted their efforts to ECOWAS, using the weekend summit to secure regional backing for what is increasingly described as “Afrophobia.” They now want the issue placed before the African Union’s next full summit in early 2027.
Analysts say the united ECOWAS position significantly raises the political stakes. West African affairs commentator Auta Ibrahim said the coordinated approach transforms what had been a dispute between Ghana and South Africa into a broader institutional challenge involving one of Africa’s most influential regional blocs.
Welcoming the decision, Mahama confirmed the matter would now be presented to African leaders at the next continental gathering.
“Ghana welcomes the decision of the Authority of Heads of State of ECOWAS to fully endorse and support Ghana’s petition at the African Union for the matter to be addressed at the next AU Mid-Year Summit,” he said.
The diplomatic dispute has also spilled beyond official channels, with some politicians and activists in Ghana and Nigeria calling for retaliatory measures against South African corporate interests.
Beyond the xenophobia issue, Mahama urged ECOWAS leaders to focus on implementing existing commitments on regional integration, security and governance instead of adopting new agreements.
“Over the past five decades, ECOWAS has adopted important treaties, protocols and decisions that have advanced regional integration. There is, therefore, the need for the effective implementation of all our decisions,” he said.
He also warned that terrorism and violent extremism continue to threaten development across the Sahel and the wider region. Mahama said democratic governance must deliver meaningful improvements in people’s lives rather than being reduced to elections every few years.
“Our citizens are tired of only being called up to vote every four or five years. They want to see the benefits of democracy, and it behoves our national leaders to make that happen,” he said.
He added that ECOWAS’ future would depend on progress beyond high-level meetings.
“The future of ECOWAS cannot be built exclusively within conference rooms. It must be built in our classrooms, on our farms, our factories, our research institutions, our innovation hubs, our marketplaces and our communities,” he said.
Mahama also said the upcoming appointment of a new ECOWAS Commission President and Vice-President comes at a critical time, with the incoming leadership expected to implement the proposed ECOWAS Compact while steering the bloc through growing political, security and economic challenges. He ended by reaffirming Ghana’s commitment to working with member states, the Commission and development partners to promote peace, prosperity and deeper regional integration.
By: Andrews Kwesi Yeboah