Sarkodie has paid tribute to Javits Frimpong, the 15-year-old Ghanaian student who was shot dead in the Bronx, New York, on his way to school on Thursday, and said the killing makes it hard for Ghanaians abroad to feel safe.
In a post on X on Saturday morning, the rapper said killings are still treated as shocking events in Ghana, even in its toughest neighbourhoods.
“Murder is a big deal out here. It’s almost alien to us because whenever something like that happens, it becomes major news,” he wrote. “But it seems to have become an almost regular thing in some parts of the West, which makes it scary for my people to feel safe out there.”
Sarkodie also called on parents abroad to pay closer attention to the values they pass on to their children. “I think some of my fellow Black brothers and sisters out there need to do better when it comes to raising their children and instilling the right values in them,” he said.
He ended with a message to the teenager’s family: “It’s very unfortunate that we had to lose Javits this way. May his gentle soul rest in perfect peace. Sending love, prayers and strength to the family, especially his mum and dad.” MyJoyOnline and Adomonline report that he shared the same message on Facebook.
Medikal joined the tributes a few hours later in a short post on X.
In New York, Bronx-born rapper A Boogie Wit da Hoodie paused his show at UBS Arena in Elmont on Friday to lead the crowd in a moment of silence for the teenager. “He just came here from Africa to America about a year ago, and he passed away due to a gunshot wound. So let’s give a moment of silence to him,” he told fans as a photo of Javits appeared on the big screen, GhanaWeb reports. According to Complex, Cardi B, who is also from the Bronx, spoke about his death on an Instagram Live.
Javits moved from Ghana to New York about a year ago to live with his father, Thomas Frimpong. He was shot once in the abdomen near East 171st Street and Crotona Place on the morning of Thursday, 29 October, and died at St Barnabas Hospital, Complex reports. Police are looking for three teenage boys who ran from the scene. No arrests had been announced at the time of writing.
In a post on X on Friday, Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said he had spoken to the boy’s father and that the ministry would work with US authorities to make sure justice is done.
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