Reports gathered suggest the Immigration officials at OR Tambo International Airport have revealed that out of the 300 evacuated Ghanaians, only 10 were in South Africa legally.
According to the Home Affairs Immigration and Law Enforcement head, Stephen van Neel, authorities found widespread immigration violations among the group.
Speaking to reporters, Stephen van Neel stated, “Of the 300 individuals that were on that list, we only found 10 of them to be legal in the country…We obviously have to make sure that certain sanctions are enforced”.
Meanwhile, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, has disclosed that more evacuation flights from South Africa will take place next week.
In a statement on his X page, Ablakwa wrote, “Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah must be proud of us. More evacuation flights next week. For God and Country.”
His comments follow the 297 Ghanaians who were on board the initial flight and were met on arrival by senior government officials.
Ablakwa disclosed that among the first batch of 297 Ghanaians who arrived at the Kotoka International Airport in Accra on Tuesday, aboard an Ethiopian Airlines flight, 26 of them were detained Ghanaians in South Africa.
Speaking to the evacuees during a reception ceremony at the airport, Mr Ablakwa said,
“We negotiated with the South African government that since we are evacuating our nationals, we don’t want to leave anybody behind in prison,” the Minister stated.
“So now, there is no Ghanaian in any South African prison for visa violations. We have brought all of them back home”.
“Today, the Mahama administration is demonstrating that wherever Ghanaians are, we will make sure you are protected, your dignity is respected, and we will go to the length of this world to bring you back home safely,” he said.
Also, Austin Kwabena Brako-Powers, a Legal expert and policy analyst, has urged the John Mahama-led government to demand compensation from South Africa over xenophobic attacks.
The lawyer argued that the government should formally demand compensation from South Africa for Ghanaian businesses and properties that were destroyed during xenophobic attacks.
He disclosed that several Ghanaian-owned businesses have been looted, burned, vandalised, or abandoned during the violent attacks against foreign nationals.
Austin Kwabena Brako-Powers argued that Ghana must move beyond diplomatic protests and push for compensation for affected Ghanaians.
According to him, demand for compensation is rooted in established principles of international law.
Speaking on TV3’s Big Issues on Tuesday, May 26, 2026, Brako-Powers argued that Ghana must move beyond diplomatic protests and push for a structured compensation process for affected citizens.
Brako-Powers stated, “Ghana should formally demand, as a condition of its bilateral diplomatic engagement with South Africa, a structured process for the assessment and compensation of Ghanaian nationals whose businesses and property were destroyed during these attacks”.
“The Ghanaian government is not being hard and tough enough,” he said.
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— GHnow (@ghnow_) May 27, 2026
