Ghana has become the latest African country to announce it will evacuate its citizens from South Africa following a surge of protests targeting foreign nationals, deepening regional concern over renewed xenophobic tensions.
Foreign Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa said President Nana Akufo‑Addo had approved the “immediate evacuation” of 300 Ghanaians who registered with the embassy in Pretoria after the ministry issued a safety advisory.
The move follows days of anti‑immigrant demonstrations in several South African cities where thousands of protesters demanded mass deportations of undocumented foreign nationals, blaming illegal immigration for pressure on jobs, housing and crime.
The Ghanaian embassy this week urged nationals to avoid public gatherings and temporarily close their businesses in Durban ahead of a planned protest.
Ghana has also summoned South Africa’s envoy and written to the African Union warning that the situation poses a “serious risk” to Africans living in the country.
The tensions have prompted similar reactions across the region.
Nigeria has already announced plans to evacuate its citizens, while Kenya, Malawi, Lesotho and Zimbabwe have issued safety warnings.
Nigeria’s Foreign Minister Bianca Odumegwu Ojukwu announced last week that over 100 of her compatriots had registered to be repatriated from South Africa amid growing fears that recent attacks on foreign nationals could escalate.
South African authorities have denied that foreign nationals were attacked, saying widely circulated videos purporting to show violence were fake.
President Cyril Ramaphosa described the incidents as “isolated acts of criminality” and insisted they did not reflect government policy, while reaffirming plans to tighten migration controls and secure borders.
South Africa, home to more than three million foreign nationals according to official figures, has experienced periodic outbreaks of xenophobic violence over the past two decades, including deadly attacks in 2008, 2015 and 2019.
JN/APA