The Ranking Member on Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, Samuel Abu Jinapor, has described as "deeply disturbing" the conflicting accounts provided by Ghana and South Africa over the death of a Ghanaian national in Cape Town.

According to Mr Jinapor, it is unacceptable for two sovereign states to present different versions of the circumstances surrounding the death of the Ghanaian citizen identified as a tailor. 

"A fact should be a fact. We should not have different accounts as to what is happening in South Africa," he said on JoyNews' The Pulse on Thursday, July 2.

"If it is the case that we have sadly lost one of our compatriots in South Africa, that should be established. We cannot be in a situation where two sovereign governments have conflicting reports about the death of a Ghanaian citizen in South Africa. That is most unfortunate and very disturbing."

In a statement issued on Thursday, South Africa's Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Mmamoloko Kubayi, who also chairs the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Migration, said Ghana's account of the incident was factually incorrect and not supported by police investigations.

The Government of Ghana had earlier stated that the Ghanaian national was fatally wounded on 30 June during anti-immigrant demonstrations linked to xenophobic attacks in South Africa.

However, South African authorities said the victim was attacked at his workplace on 29 June in what police believe was a criminal incident unrelated to the demonstrations.

According to the Western Cape Police, the deceased was shot at a barbershop in Nyanga after unknown assailants allegedly entered the premises, demanded money and opened fire before fleeing. Police believe the attack may have been linked to extortion, and investigations are continuing.

Commenting on the diplomatic dispute, Mr Jinapor said relations between Ghana and South Africa appeared to have deteriorated and should not be allowed to worsen.

"Quite clearly, there is some breakdown of trust between our respective governments, and the bilateral relations between Ghana and South Africa, obviously, are at their lowest."

He said the matter should be elevated beyond the foreign ministers and handled directly by the presidents of Ghana and South Africa to help restore confidence and improve relations.

"I think, most respectfully, that the engagement should be elevated to the level of the presidency — the presidency of Ghana and the presidency of South Africa — to make the effort to normalise this relationship.

"If you follow the back-and-forth between our Foreign Minister and the Foreign Minister of South Africa, it is quite clear that there is some breakdown of cordiality and functionality. There doesn't seem to be a functional relationship between the two foreign ministers."