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Ghanaian authorities began repatriating hundreds of citizens from South Africa on Wednesday following weeks of intense anti-immigrant protests that sparked severe safety concerns.
A group of 300 Ghanaian nationals, including women and children, boarded one of the first voluntary evacuation flights at Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport after targeted harassment and outbreaks of violence made them fear for their lives.
The mass departure follows a volatile wave of demonstrations by South African campaigners who blame foreign nationals for high crime rates and the country’s 30 per cent unemployment rate.
While migrant rights groups argue that foreigners are being scapegoated for deeper economic issues, a South African immigration official noted that only 10 of the first 300 repatriated individuals held legal status.
Ghana’s High Commissioner to South Africa, Benjamin Quashie, emphasised that the two nations are cooperating closely to safely return undocumented citizens and defuse community tensions without damaging diplomatic ties.
Meanwhile, South African authorities strongly condemned the xenophobic attacks, pledging a swift crackdown and reaffirming that violence has no place in the nation’s democracy.
