Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has revealed that 26 Ghanaian prisoners were among the first batch of 300 evacuees brought back from South Africa on Wednesday, May 27, following recent xenophobic tensions.
Speaking after the evacuees arrived at the Accra International Airport, he expressed appreciation to South African authorities for agreeing to release and repatriate the detainees as part of the evacuation arrangement.
According to him, the affected individuals had been detained for visa and residence permit violations.
“Let me welcome the 26 Ghanaians, whom we negotiated with; they were in prison, they had been detained for visa violations. We negotiated with the South African government that since we are evacuating our nationals, we don’t want anybody behind prison and the South African government agreed with us,” he said.
“So I want to thank President Cyril Ramaphosa and my counterpart, the Foreign Minister of South Africa, for accepting our plea,” he added.
Mr. Ablakwa further disclosed that the agreement ensured no Ghanaian remained in detention facilities in South Africa following the evacuation exercise.
“So now, there is no Ghanaian in any South African prison; we have brought all of them back home,” he stated.
He explained that the evacuation forms part of government’s broader response to protect Ghanaian nationals affected by rising xenophobic incidents in parts of South Africa.
Authorities had earlier indicated that the exercise would prioritise Ghanaians who voluntarily registered to return home due to safety concerns.
Government says returnees will be supported with reintegration assistance to help them settle back into life in Ghana.
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