Ghana Flies Back Nearly 300 Citizens From South Africa Amid Xenophobia Row | Firstpost Africa | N18G

Added: 2026-05-30

[00:00:00]Now, the dream of Pan African unity is colliding with a harsh economic reality.

[00:00:07]Hundreds of Ghanaians have now been flown home from South Africa after rising fears of xenophobic attacks and anti-foreigner violence.

[00:00:17]On Wednesday, a chartered flight carrying nearly 300 Ghanaian nationals landed in Accra.

[00:00:24]The returning passengers were greeted by Ghana's Foreign Minister as crowds sang and danced inside the airport terminal.

[00:00:48]But behind the celebrations, there lies a terrifying reality for hundreds of Ghanaians.

[00:00:54]The evacuation comes after weeks of growing anti-immigrant tensions across South Africa.

[00:01:01]Ghana says that more than 800 of its citizens have now registered for emergency repatriation.

[00:01:08]Officials say that returnees will receive transport support, reintegration assistance, and counseling.

[00:01:15]>> Welcome all of you to Ghana, your own country, to the motherland.

[00:01:20]>> [applause and cheering] >> We send a clear message.

[00:01:23]Ghanaians have a caring government.

[00:01:26]Ghanaians are valued.

[00:01:28]Ghanaians are loved.

[00:01:30]Ghanaians are cherished.

[00:01:32]And if you mess around with Ghanaians anywhere in the world, thinking that they are often or nobody cares about them, you are mistaken. And you are making a mess of yourselves.

[00:01:46]>> While the Ghanaian government insists this evacuation is strictly voluntary, those on board describe a terrifying climate of intimidation in South Africa.

[00:01:56]Some said foreigners being targeted in communities and informal settlements.

[00:02:01]Others claimed they lost their businesses and property while trying to escape.

[00:02:09]>> I have a salon built in a 40-ft container. The container got robbed once and when these attacks began, the container was broken into and all the items looted. 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.

[00:02:27]>> Another attorney described a violent attack that he claims left him with bullets still inside his body.

[00:02:33]>> Of xenophobic attack is all about uh uh South Africans saying that we foreigners, we are taking their job and then some of their experiences was that um uh that those time I was doing Uber, they hijack me and they shot me and then uh as you they shot me many times. As I'm speaking to you, I still got a bullet in my spine which uh I need to do some sort of operation but then I'm feeling better by the grace of God.

[00:03:01]>> South African authorities have condemned violence against foreign nationals labeling the unrest as isolated criminal acts.

[00:03:10]But at the same time, the government has also intensified crackdowns on undocumented migrants.

[00:03:18]South Africa's border management authority says that most passengers on the Ghanaian repatriation flight were undocumented.

[00:03:25]Officials say that many had overstayed their visas.

[00:03:29]Ghana's High Commissioner to South Africa says immigration backlogs also contributed to the crisis.

[00:03:36]>> The demonstrators have said that they want us to work together. How do we work together? Ensuring that those that are undocumented, we are taking them back home. Once institutions are working, I don't think we'll find ourselves in this kind of situations whatsoever again.

[00:03:50]>> The tensions are now spreading across multiple South African cities. Reports say some citizen-led groups have issued deadlines demanding undocumented migrants to leave the country by the 30th of June.

[00:04:03]In Durban, migrants from countries including the DRC, Rwanda, and Somalia have reportedly sought emergency protection after claiming they were threatened.

[00:04:15]But the underlying trigger for this crisis is not administrative. It is structural economic collapse of South Africa.

[00:04:23]According to reports, the country's official unemployment rate now stands above 32%.

[00:04:29]With over 8 million citizens looking for work, youth unemployment is even higher at more than 45%.

[00:04:38]60% of the population lives below the upper middle-income poverty line.

[00:04:44]Now, with formal jobs virtually nonexistent, millions of desperate South Africans rely completely on the informal economy, like street vending and micro transport. This is the exact sector where low-skilled African immigrants operate.

[00:05:00]The result is a dangerous survivalist clash over profit margins.

[00:05:06]While South Africa has suffered periodic waves of anti-immigrant unrest since 2008, analysts warn this latest phase is far more coordinated and digitally amplified across social media.

[00:05:22]From the 24th of April, videos of alleged attacks on Ghanaians in South Africa have spread rapidly online, triggering anger in Ghana and adding pressure on Accra to respond.

[00:05:34]Ghana's foreign ministry has already summoned South Africa's ambassador over the incidents, but both governments say that they want to prevent a diplomatic crisis.

[00:05:45]>> People wish that there was a diplomatic route. We'll disappoint them. The two countries will continue working together for the mutual benefit of its citizens.

[00:05:54]>> The crisis is also reviving a bigger question across Africa.

[00:05:59]What happens to Pan-African unity when economic survival takes over?

[00:06:05]For decades, African leaders spoke about open borders, African brotherhood, and continental solidarity.

[00:06:13]But the reality is becoming far more complicated.

[00:06:17]As the next emergency flight reportedly prepares to depart Johannesburg this Friday, the images coming out of Accra are exposing a growing contradiction inside modern Africa.

[00:06:29]The continent speaks more than ever about integration and unity, but on the ground, economic pressure is making those ideals harder to hold together.

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