Scores of Ghanaian nationals attended a screening and verification exercise at Ghana’s embassy in Pretoria on Sunday, May 24, 2026, as Accra moves to evacuate 300 citizens from South Africa this week following a surge in anti-immigrant tensions.
Ghana’s High Commissioner to South Africa, Benjamin Quashie, confirmed that 826 Ghanaians had registered for evacuation after a wave of nationwide protests led by the group “March and March” swept through Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, and the Eastern Cape. The protests have called on all foreign nationals to leave South Africa before the end of June.
Quashie described the demonstrations as xenophobic and said the resulting climate of fear had driven many Ghanaians to seek a way home. He noted that more than 16,000 Ghanaians currently live in South Africa, the overwhelming majority of them legally and in compliance with local laws.
The first group of 300 Ghanaians is expected to depart on Wednesday, May 27. Screening continues through Monday before travel arrangements are finalised.
Among those who turned up at the embassy was a man identified only as Fredrick, who moved to South Africa hoping for a better life. He said he had not personally suffered a direct xenophobic attack but described everyday life in Johannesburg as a constant risk, pointing to armed robberies and general street insecurity as daily realities for migrants.
“I can never come back to South Africa,” Fredrick said.
Also present was 22-year-old Sylvester Boakye, a hairdresser who spent two years working in the country. Boakye arrived alone at OR Tambo International Airport the previous week after a miscommunication over the date of a chartered flight to Ghana. He told reporters that corrupt officials repeatedly confiscated the little money he earned, making it impossible to save enough for a return ticket home.
A third Ghanaian, who declined to give his name, recounted a physical assault in Meadowlands, Soweto, where a group attacked him partly because he could not communicate in the local language. That incident drove him to the embassy seeking immediate assistance.
The Government of Ghana has framed the evacuation as a structured reintegration effort. Quashie urged both governments to move beyond statements and take concrete steps to protect foreign nationals still living across South Africa.
