South Africa: Ghana evacuated 1,964 of its nationals for $4.27 million

The Ghanaian Ministry of Foreign Affairs published a detailed report on Saturday, October 17, 2026, regarding the evacuation of 1,964 of its nationals from South Africa, reports the APA agency. The operation, conducted from May 27 to September 4, 2026, was triggered by the rise in xenophobic violence and intimidation, particularly in the center of Durban, KwaZulu-Natal.

The total cost was approximately $4.27 million, with nearly $2.89 million covered by the Ghanaian state and about $1.37 million by the private company Engineers and Planners, owned by businessman Ibrahim Mahama. Charter flights, tickets, transport, meals, accommodation, and medical expenses accounted for $3.33 million; $926,700 went toward reintegration, and $7,230 was spent on the repatriation of two bodies.

$429 to start a new life

Each evacuated person received approximately $429 in reintegration assistance and a $43 transport allowance. According to the report, this was in addition to free medical examinations, enrollment in the national health insurance scheme, credited SIM cards, food aid, and psychosocial support. The returnees were registered in a national database intended to provide them with access to employment, vocational training, and entrepreneurship support programs.

Four deaths and ongoing investigations

The document records four deaths of Ghanaian nationals in this context. Bashiru Issahaq, 44, a father of three, was killed on June 30, 2026, in Khayelitsha, near Cape Town; the autopsy performed in Ghana could not establish the cause of death, and Accra is awaiting the results of the South African investigation. Kwadwo Antwi was killed on July 18, 2026, in Prieska, Northern Cape, and Amoonu Jailor Nash on April 3, 2026, in East London. Ebenezer Ayi Tawiah, who was ill, could not access care due to the intimidation; he died on August 17, 2026, upon his arrival at Accra airport.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa states that he is pressing South African authorities to establish the circumstances of these deaths and to prosecute those responsible. He has summoned the acting South African High Commissioner to Ghana.

The matter brought before the African Union

Accra is not treating the case as a simple consular incident. On May 6, 2026, Ghana officially requested that the African Union Commission include the xenophobic attacks on its agenda, a request that ECOWAS heads of state reportedly supported unanimously, according to Mr. Ablakwa. President John Dramani Mahama discussed the matter on July 22, 2026, in Accra with the Chairperson of the Commission, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, who indicated that he had contacted South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. The Commission responded that the issue would be examined at the next summit in January 2027.

Since April 2026, the 'March and March' and 'Operation Dudula' movements have intensified their actions against foreigners in South Africa: nationality checks in public spaces, pressure on businesses, and calls to leave the country before June 30, 2026. Ghana has announced the creation of a Consular Fund for the diaspora, intended to finance emergency aid for its citizens in crisis abroad.

This is the state of lived Pan-Africanism: an African state charters planes to get its children out of another African country and waits until January 2027 to discuss it with the African Union.