Ghana Receives 1,000 Evacuees From South Africa

Ghana received a third batch of citizens evacuated from South Africa on Sunday, bringing the total number repatriated amid xenophobic violence to about 1,000, as a diplomatic dispute between the two countries intensified.

The latest evacuees arrived at Accra International Airport on 7 June 2026 in the third flight organised by the Ghanaian government since the evacuation exercise began in May.

The exercise was launched after Ghana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs urged distressed Ghanaian nationals in South Africa to register with the country’s High Commission in Pretoria for assistance.

Ghana’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, said President John Dramani Mahama had approved the evacuations, which the government described as necessary given the challenging conditions faced by Ghanaians in South Africa.

“No Ghanaian has been abandoned in harm’s way,” Ablakwa wrote in a post on Facebook after welcoming the latest group of evacuees.

He said approximately 1,000 Ghanaian nationals had now been evacuated and pledged government support for their reintegration through employment opportunities, medical and psychosocial assistance, and efforts to secure compensation for those who lost businesses and property during the attacks.

Senior government officials received the latest group of returnees, including Deputy Chief of Staff for Administration Nana Oye Bampoe Addo and Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister James Gyakye Quayson.

The government also announced support measures for the evacuees, including enrolment in the National Health Insurance Scheme, assistance in obtaining national identity cards, and registration under the National Apprenticeship Programme for employment and vocational training opportunities.

Ablakwa said the government had begun legal proceedings aimed at securing compensation for citizens who lost businesses, properties and investments during the attacks.

A diplomatic dispute has emerged between Accra and Pretoria over the handling of the crisis.

South Africa’s Foreign Minister, Ronald Lamola, accused Ghanaian officials of spreading misinformation about the situation and criticised what he described as the politicisation of the issue.

Lamola was responding to suggestions from Ghanaian officials that action could be taken against South African businesses operating in Ghana. He warned that Pretoria would defend its position if the matter was pursued through international courts or regional human rights institutions.

The latest unrest followed the circulation of a viral social media video showing the alleged assault of a Ghanaian man, which sparked outrage in parts of West Africa.

South Africa’s Border Management Authority said that during the processing of the latest evacuation flight, 170 travellers were found to have overstayed their legal period of stay and were consequently declared undesirable under the country’s Immigration Act.

The tensions followed renewed anti-immigration protests in South Africa, where concerns over unemployment, crime and access to public services have contributed to hostility towards some foreign nationals in several communities.

Concerns intensified in April after videos circulated on social media showing foreign nationals, including Ghanaians, being harassed and asked to produce immigration documents by groups of South Africans.

Xenophobic violence has erupted periodically in South Africa since 2008, with migrants from Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Somalia, Ethiopia and Ghana among those frequently affected.