Hundreds of “distressed” nationals have sought help to return to the West African country amid reports of xenophobic attacks
Ghanaian President John Mahama has approved the immediate evacuation of 300 citizens from South Africa, following what Accra described as a fresh wave of xenophobic attacks targeting foreign nationals.
The West African country’s foreign minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, said the distressed Ghanaians had registered with Ghana’s High Commission in Pretoria to be rescued.
“The Government of Ghana shall continue to safeguard the welfare of all Ghanaians home and abroad,” Ablakwa wrote on X on Tuesday.
The evacuation comes amid widespread concerns across the continent over escalating anti-immigrant unrest in South Africa, where protests over undocumented foreign nationals have continued to spread across parts of the country in recent weeks. Hundreds marched in Johannesburg late last month to demand tougher immigration enforcement and mass deportations, while similar actions have since been reported in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.
Anti-immigrant groups, including Operation Dudula, have been at the center of the controversy. A Johannesburg high court previously declared the group’s conduct at public facilities unlawful and xenophobic, barring members from harassment, hate speech, and blocking foreigners from health care, education, and housing.
The unrest has revived a long-running controversy over attacks on African migrants in South Africa, the continent’s most industrialized economy, where unemployment remains above 30% and foreign nationals are often accused of taking jobs, straining public services, and engaging in crime.
In a statement on April 27, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed alarm over alleged “xenophobic attacks and acts of harassment and intimidation” against migrants and foreign nationals in parts of South Africa. Guterres said African and international solidarity helped South Africa defeat apartheid, and that migrants have long helped shape the country’s development.
Pretoria has rejected the xenophobia label. President Cyril Ramaphosa’s spokesman, Vincent Magwenya, said last week that portraying South Africans as xenophobic was a “lazy” analysis of tensions linked to crime, illegal immigration, and wider socioeconomic pressures. He said South Africa remained a welcoming country and that isolated protests should not define the nation.
Ghana is not the only African country moving to protect its citizens. On May 3, Nigeria said it will voluntarily repatriate 130 nationals from South Africa in response to the attacks. The two West African countries have summoned South African diplomats to demand stronger protection for their citizens.
