Ghana has evacuated 1,964 of its citizens from South Africa following renewed xenophobic attacks and anti-immigrant intimidation against African nationals, particularly in areas such as Durban, its foreign ministry said on Monday.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the voluntary operation ran from May 27 to September 4, 2026, ending with the arrival of a final group of 41 returnees.
Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said this was the first time Ghana acted so swiftly to remove willing citizens from harm during repeated waves of such violence.
The government reported total costs of GH¢49,721,786 (about US$4.36 million), covering chartered and commercial flights, ground transport, accommodation, feeding, medical care and reintegration support.
State funding accounted for GH¢33.72 million, while Engineers and Planners contributed GH¢16 million. Each returnee received a GH¢5,000 reintegration grant plus a GH¢500 transport allowance.
Ablakwa stressed that assistance was available to any Ghanaian who felt unsafe, came under attack or sought refuge at the Pretoria mission or Pentecost Church facilities, without political or regional discrimination.
Some returnees later voiced regret about returning, saying the financial package proved insufficient for resettlement needs.
On October 11 the NPP Minority in Parliament demanded an independent audit, alleging payment registers and flight records do not fully match the 1,964 total and leave more than GH¢16 million unexplained.
Ablakwa has invited the Auditor-General to review all evacuations since 2017 and confirmed the ministry supplied over 200 pages of documents under a Right to Information request.
He has reiterated that Ghana stands ready to evacuate more citizens if the situation worsens, noting persistent anti-immigrant sentiment and a recent court ruling on asylum seekers.
While responding to reports about renewed tensions in South Africa emerging from a recent decision of their apex court on asylum seekers, the Minister Stated that, “it does appear to us that the whole undercurrents of anti-immigrant sentiments continue to remain strong. That is why as a government we must be commended for how proactively we acted”.
To buttress this point, he noted that, “there have been many waves of these xenophobic attacks, but this is the first time that the government of Ghana has acted so swiftly to take our citizens who were willing, who voluntarily signed up to be taken out of harm’s way. And we can now boldly state that we have successfully evacuated 1,964 Ghanaians”, the Minister stated.
More than 6,300 Ghanaians have been brought home from distress situations worldwide since 2025, including from Libya, Myanmar and Cambodia.
