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The Ghanaian Government has postponed the evacuation of its nationals from South Africa, which was initially scheduled to commence today.
The West African country had announced that a special chartered flight would depart O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg at 5 a.m. on Thursday, but in a statement shared on X on Thursday morning, the country’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, announced that the evacuation would be delayed for “a few days”.
According to Ablakwa, over 800 Ghanaians registered with the Ghanaian High Commission in Pretoria, seeking evacuation following a recent wave of violent xenophobic attacks on Black migrants in South Africa.
Update on Evacuation from South Africa.
More than 800 Ghanaians have registered to be evacuated;
Senior Government Officials on both sides engaging on South African legal conditions, passenger screening, managing the high numbers and multi-institutional coordination as we… pic.twitter.com/iKl02aZaDN
— Sam Okudzeto Ablakwa (@S_OkudzetoAblak) May 21, 2026
He explained that the evacuation was postponed due to the number of registrations and other requirements that needed to be met.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs wishes to provide an update on the evacuation of Ghanaians from South Africa, which was scheduled to commence today, 21st May, 2026. The Government of Ghana notes that more than 800 Ghanaians have registered with our High Commission in Pretoria seeking to be evacuated due to the latest wave of xenophobic attacks,” said Ablakwa.
“Considering the numbers involved and the South African legal conditions that have to be met, including mandatory passenger screening, multi-institutional coordination and flight permits, the planned evacuation has been deferred by a few days to enable our High Commission to meet these evacuation conditions.”
Ablakwa added that Ghanaian and South African authorities have agreed to enhance pre-evacuation modalities to expedite the process, while assuring that senior government officials on both sides remain actively involved in the evacuation exercise.
In recent times, anti-migrant South African groups have assaulted Black migrants and called for their departure from the country, with some also staging protests demanding their deportation.
The governments of countries whose citizens have been affected by the xenophobic attacks, including Nigeria, have announced voluntary repatriation programmes for their citizens.
In Nigeria, for instance, over 130 Nigerians have already registered with Nigerian missions in South Africa for assistance to return home.
