Kwasi Kwarteng, a legal practitioner, has described the killing of Ghanaians in the United States as “barbarism” and urged US authorities to take decisive action.
“I don’t see the difference between what is happening in the US and South Africa. This barbarism, no reasonable justification can exist for this,” he said on Key Points on TV3 on Saturday, November 7.
“We are praying for justice for these young ones,” he added.
Two Ghanaians have been killed in the Bronx in the last week. They are 24-year-old Joseph Owusu and 15-year-old Javits Badu Nkansah Frimpong.
Calls for caution
Ghana’s Ambassador to the United States, Victor Smith, has advised Ghanaians to take care when choosing where to live in the country.
He said Ghana’s embassy was expected to assist every Ghanaian in the US, but could not know the location of every member of the Ghanaian community.
Mr Smith said he had written to the US State Department about reports of bullying and asked whether it could be connected to 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 Key Points on TV3 on Saturday, November 7.
He also revealed that his son had been bullied at school in the United States. Mr Smith said he had formally reported the issue to the school authorities and warned that he would remove his son if action was not taken.
He said racial discrimination continued despite global efforts to tackle racism, particularly in the United States.
Mr Smith said some Americans took offence when people did not speak like them or had a different skin colour.
“Nobody can convince me that racism doesn’t exist in America; it exists. It still exists. My son has been tormented. I asked him to report it to the authorities; it got me very worried, and I expressed worry to the Principal,” he said.
“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 added.
He said his son had been expected to use American slang and speech patterns from his first day at school, a situation which could leave African children feeling 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.
Joseph Owusu death
Further details have emerged about the death of Joseph Owusu, whose body was found at a dump site in the Bronx, New York.
Surveillance footage seen on November 6, 2026, and shared by the American news outlet ABC7, showed two people believed to be adult men taking a large black duffel bag from the boot of a white saloon car.
The footage, recorded at night, showed the pair dragging the bag on to the pavement before driving away. The following day, another man was filmed putting the bag on a metal stretcher and wheeling it away.
Owusu’s body was later discovered by a man searching for scrap metal. Ghana’s embassy in Washington and its New York mission identified him as a caregiver who had been missing for about two weeks. The mission said on Wednesday that an autopsy was under way, but no cause of death had been released.
Owusu’s brother, Kojo Yeboah, appealed for justice and said the family was struggling to accept what had happened.
“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.
Mr Yeboah was shown the surveillance footage of his brother’s body being removed from the car and was asked whether he recognised those involved.
Javits Frimpong investigation
Javits Badu Nkansah Frimpong was shot on the morning of Thursday, October 29, while walking to school in the Bronx. He died at St Barnabas Hospital.
President John Dramani Mahama said the exact cause of the shooting remained unknown, although some accounts had attributed it to bullying.
“Some ascribe it to bullying, but of course the NYPD is investigating it. But two things the American people have to reckon with are the violent nature of their society, especially gun violence,” he said.
Mr Mahama linked the issue to the constitutional right to bear arms.
“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 also referred to the pressures of modern life and the difficulty of recognising when someone may be experiencing mental strain.
“In the world today, there are so many stress factors of modern living, so mental health is becoming a major crisis,” he said.
“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.”
“So, one of the issues America has to deal with is the level of gun violence in their society,” he added.
Mr Mahama made the comments on Thursday, November 5, during a meet-the-press session with the Presidential Press Corps at Jubilee House after returning to Ghana.
Javits’s mother had travelled to New York and called for justice. No arrest had been announced.
“It is not common over the years for several Ghanaians to have been killed in violence in the United States,” the President said.
“The issue with Javits Frimpong is, he was so young, 15 years old, and had just been in the United States barely a year to join his father, and this happened.”
NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said on Monday, November 2, that three hooded people wearing surgical masks chased Javits and shot him. They then picked up the shell casings and left on a subway train.
Detectives were considering robbery, mistaken identity and bullying at school. Police had not said which possibility they favoured and had not named a suspect.
Mr Mahama said the body of a 24-year-old man had been found at a dumpsite two days before his remarks.
“I don’t believe it is only Ghanaians being killed. I am sure other people are suffering the same fate.”
“So it is something that Americans need to deal with,” he said.
The President thanked the Foreign Affairs Ministry for helping Javits’s mother travel to mourn her son, and praised Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister James Gyakye Quayson, who received her in Accra during his absence.
He said Ghana’s New York mission had visited the family and been instructed to provide any assistance required. The Foreign Affairs Minister said the government was paying for the mother’s trip.
New York police have asked anyone with information about Javits’s killing to contact Crime Stoppers on 1-800-577-TIPS.
