Ghana’s Ambassador to the United States, Victor Smith, has said racism remains prevalent in America, while warning that gun violence has contributed to the deaths of five Ghanaians since he took up the post.
Speaking on TV3’s Key Points on Saturday, November 7, Mr Smith said some Americans took offence when people spoke differently or had a different skin colour.
“Nobody can convince me that racism doesn’t exist in America; it exists. It still exists,” he said.
The ambassador said his son had been subjected to tormenting behaviour and that he had urged him to report it to the authorities. Mr Smith added that he had raised his concerns with the school principal.
He also expressed anger over the deaths of Ghanaians in the United States, saying most of the five recorded cases involved guns.
“In total, five people have died since I became the US Ambassador in different circumstances; most of them are gun-related,” he said.
“I have issued a statement expressing our unhappiness about what is happening; we cannot accuse the US government of not doing enough, but we need to protest that Ghanaians are unhappy.”
Two Ghanaians have been killed in the Bronx in the past week.
Surveillance footage seen on November 6, 2026, and shared by the American broadcaster ABC7, appears to show two people believed to be adult men removing a large black duffel bag from the boot of a white saloon car. The bag contained the body of 24-year-old Ghanaian Joseph Owusu.
The individuals dragged the bag on to the pavement before driving away. The following day, another man was recorded placing it on a metal stretcher and wheeling it away. Owusu’s body was later found at a dump site by someone searching for scrap metal.
His brother, Kojo Yeboah, said the family wanted justice.
“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.
Yeboah was shown the footage and asked whether he recognised the people involved.
Fifteen-year-old Ghanaian Javits Badu Nkansah Frimpong was shot while walking to school in the Bronx on the morning of Thursday, October 29. He died at St Barnabas Hospital.
President John Dramani Mahama said the exact motive remained unknown, although some reports had linked the killing to bullying. The NYPD is investigating and has not announced an arrest.
NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said on Monday, November 2, that three hooded people wearing surgical masks chased Frimpong before shooting him. They then collected the shell casings and left on a subway train.
Detectives are considering robbery, mistaken identity and bullying as possible motives, but have not identified a preferred line of inquiry or named a suspect.
Speaking on Thursday, November 5, at a meet-the-press session with the Presidential Press Corps at Jubilee House after returning to Ghana, President Mahama said the US must confront gun violence and the ease with which firearms can be bought.
“It is part of the amendments in their constitution that give citizens the right to bear arms. So, anybody can go to a gun shop to buy one,” he said.
He also pointed to the pressures of modern life and the difficulty of recognising when someone is experiencing mental strain.
“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.
Frimpong had been in the United States for barely a year after joining his father. His mother has travelled to New York and is seeking justice. Ghana’s New York mission has visited the family and was instructed to provide assistance.
Mahama praised the Foreign Affairs Ministry and Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister James Gyakye Quayson, who received Frimpong’s mother in Accra. The Foreign Affairs Minister said the government was paying for her trip.
The embassy said Owusu was a caregiver who had been missing for about two weeks. An autopsy was under way on Wednesday, but no cause of death had been released.
Police have asked anyone with information about Frimpong’s killing to contact Crime Stoppers on 1-800-577-TIPS.
