About a week ago, Bernice Diana Akuffo, 42, Ghanaian hairdresser, was left fighting for her life after a brutal attack in Johannesburg, South Africa, amid a renewed wave of xenophobic violence.
Ms Akuffo, who has lived in South Africa for more than two decades, was reportedly confronted by a group of hoodlums while attending to her daily business. According to accounts from her family, the attackers demanded that she leave the country before assaulting her with sharp weapons, leaving her with severe facial injuries.
She was later found following the intervention of Ghana’s High Commission in Pretoria after a distress call was made.
Her son petitioned the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to secure her safety and facilitate her evacuation back to Ghana.
Ms Akuffo is among several Ghanaians living in fear following recent attacks targeting African migrants in parts of South Africa.
Ghana’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has assured her and other affected citizens of the government’s commitment to their protection and evacuation efforts.
