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The first group of Ghanaians repatriated from South Africa arrived in Accra, Ghana’s capital, on Wednesday.
They were received by Ghana’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa.
According to Ablakwa, about 800 Ghanaians registered with the High Commission in Pretoria for repatriation flights, saying they no longer felt safe in South Africa.
The Ghanaian government organised the repatriation exercise in response to a wave of protests and violence targeting both documented and undocumented black migrants in the country.
One of the returnees said he had built a salon in a shipping container, but it was broken into and looted when the xenophobic attacks began.
“I tried selling my salon but couldn’t find a buyer. I left and ran away because if you have life, you have everything. So I lost my salon,” he said.
“It has never been easy for us in South Africa over the past few weeks,” said Victor Atsu Togbe, another returnee, thanking the government for taking them “out of the lion’s den”.
Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah must be proud of us.
More evacuation flights next week.
For God and Country 🇬🇭 🙏🏾 pic.twitter.com/H4iXJ7z46Z
— Sam Okudzeto Ablakwa (@S_OkudzetoAblak) May 28, 2026
South Africa, the continent’s most industrialised economy, has long been a destination for both documented and undocumented African workers.
The country, which has an unemployment rate of more than 30%, has experienced repeated outbreaks of xenophobic protests, including renewed violence in recent weeks.
According to South African immigration officials, only 10 of the 300 people in the group, which included children, were legally in the country, while most had overstayed their visas.
Ghana’s High Commissioner, however, criticised delays in processing permit renewals for migrants seeking to regularise their stay.
The Foreign Minister said 26 people who had been jailed by South African authorities over visa violations were among those on the first repatriation flight.
“President Mahama says all of you should be given two special allowances. Transportation allowance, to wherever you live, wherever your homes are, and then there will be a reintegration allowance, a special package,” Ablakwa said.
The government said returnees would be added to a database for job and start-up opportunities.
The latest tensions have revived debates across Africa about xenophobia, migration, and the gap between pan-African rhetoric and the realities faced by migrants on the continent.
According to the Associated Press, an ultimatum issued by a citizen-led group in South Africa demanding that undocumented migrants leave the country by 30 June has raised fears of further violence against immigrants.
Earlier this month, several hundred people from countries including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and Somalia sought protection in the eastern port city of Durban, saying locals were going door to door ordering them to leave before the deadline.
The South African government said it was stepping up enforcement against undocumented immigrants, but urged citizens not to take matters into their own hands.
There are more than three million foreigners living in South Africa, accounting for 5.1% of the population, according to the country’s statistics agency.
