Ghana’s ambassador to the United States, Victor Smith, has urged Ghanaians travelling to or living in the country to be careful about the communities they choose, following the deaths of two Ghanaian nationals in the Bronx.
Smith said Ghana’s embassy was expected to support all Ghanaians in the United States, but could not know where every citizen lived. He has written to the US State Department about reports of bullying and whether it may be linked to one of the killings.
“It is very worrying, and Ghanaians in the US need to be careful about where they go and where they live,” he said on TV3’s Key Points on Saturday, November 7.
Smith also disclosed that his son had been bullied at school in the United States. He said he had formally reported the matter to the school authorities and would remove his son if action was not taken.
“Nobody can convince me that racism doesn’t exist in America; it exists. It still exists. My son has been tormented,” Smith said. “I asked him to report it to the authorities; it got me very worried, and I expressed worry to the Principal.”
He said racial discrimination remained a concern despite international efforts to tackle racism, adding that some Americans reacted negatively when people spoke differently or had a different skin colour.
“This kind of bullying is no news at all. Personally, I’ve experienced it, my son. They do that. I don’t know why they do it. But the most painful part is that usually it’s black people doing it to black people,” he said.
Smith said his son had been expected to adopt American slang and speech patterns from his first day at school, a situation that could leave African children feeling unwelcome and isolated.
“They wanted him to speak with American slang on day one. And they make you feel just like unwanted. They make the kids feel lonely,” he said.
Two deaths in the Bronx
Joseph Owusu, a 24-year-old Ghanaian caregiver who had been missing for about two weeks, was found dead at a dump site in the Bronx. Ghana’s embassy in Washington and its New York mission identified him, while an autopsy was under way on Wednesday and no cause of death had been announced.
Surveillance footage seen on November 6, 2026, and shared by ABC7, showed two people believed to be adult men removing a large black duffel bag containing Owusu’s body from the boot of a white saloon car. The footage, recorded at night, showed them dragging the bag on to the pavement before driving away.
The following day, another man was filmed placing the bag on a metal stretcher and wheeling it away. A man searching for scrap metal later discovered the body.
Owusu’s brother, Kojo Yeboah, appealed for justice after viewing the footage and was asked whether he recognised those involved.
“I need justice for Joseph. I want the truth to come out because my brother didn’t deserve to die the way he did. He’s only 24. He had a lot of living to do. I cried till my nose was bleeding because I couldn’t eat,” he said.
Javits Badu Nkansah Frimpong, 15, was shot on the morning of Thursday, October 29, while walking to school in the Bronx. He died at St Barnabas Hospital. His mother has since travelled to New York and requested justice, but no arrest has been announced.
President John Dramani Mahama said the United States needed to confront gun violence and the ease with which firearms could be bought. Speaking on Thursday, November 5, at a meet-the-press session with the Presidential Press Corps at Jubilee House after returning to Ghana, he said the precise cause of Frimpong’s death remained unknown.
“Some ascribe it to bullying, but of course the NYPD is investigating it,” Mahama said. “But two things the American people have to reckon with are the violent nature of their society, especially gun violence.”
He linked the problem to the constitutional amendments allowing citizens to bear arms, saying anyone could go to a gun shop and buy one. He also said modern-life pressures had made mental health a major crisis.
“Sometimes, someone is stressed, but he is well dressed, and you will think that everything is okay. The day you realise that something is wrong, they may have guns shooting people,” he said.
NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said on Monday, November 2, that three hooded people wearing surgical masks had chased Frimpong, shot him, collected the shell casings and escaped on a subway train. Detectives were considering robbery, mistaken identity and bullying at school, but police had not identified a preferred line of inquiry or named a suspect.
Mahama said it was not only Ghanaians who suffered such violence, but added that the issue was one Americans needed to address.
He thanked the Foreign Affairs Ministry for helping Frimpong’s mother travel to mourn her son and praised Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister James Gyakye Quayson, who received her in Accra during the President’s absence.
Ghana’s New York mission had visited the family and been instructed to provide whatever assistance was needed. The Foreign Affairs Minister said the government was paying for the mother’s trip.
New York police have asked anyone with information about Frimpong’s killing to contact Crime Stoppers on 1-800-577-TIPS.
