The Ghanaian government has launched an emergency operation to evacuate 300 of its citizens from South Africa, as anti-immigrant violence sweeps through parts of Johannesburg and Pretoria. Sources on the ground confirm that the first plane touched down at Kotoka International Airport this morning, carrying 150 evacuees, mostly women and children. The second flight is expected later today.
The violence, which has left at least five dead and dozens injured since it erupted on Sunday, appears to be a coordinated campaign targeting foreign-owned businesses. Eyewitnesses describe mobs armed with machetes and clubs, targeting shops and homes of Nigerian, Ghanaian and other African immigrants. Local police have been accused of standing by while attacks unfold.
Documents obtained by this newsroom show that Ghana's Foreign Ministry has been quietly lobbying South African officials for two days, but only after the Ghana Union in South Africa reported 23 members attacked, including two stabbings, did President Nana Akufo-Addo order the evacuation. The decision came after an emergency cabinet meeting late Tuesday.
"We cannot guarantee the safety of our people," a ministry source said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "The South African authorities have lost control."
The evacuation is being coordinated through the Ghana High Commission in Pretoria, which has set up a registration hotline. But critics argue the government moved too slowly. Civil society groups have been demanding action since Monday, when videos of burning shops went viral.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has condemned the violence, but activists say his government's rhetoric lacks teeth. The country's unemployment rate hovers around 30%, and poverty has fuelled xenophobic attacks in the past. In 2015, a wave of similar violence forced thousands of immigrants to flee.
This time, the stakes are higher. Ghana's evacuation is the first of its kind from South Africa in recent memory, and other West African nations are watching closely. Nigeria has summoned its High Commissioner for talks, and the African Union has called for calm. But the damage may already be done: trust between communities is shattered, and the cycle of reprisals could escalate.
For the evacuees, relief is tinged with anger. At the airport in Accra, mothers clutched children, their belongings reduced to plastic bags. "We left everything," said Akua, a trader who has lived in Johannesburg for a decade. "Our shop, our home. They took everything."
The Ghanaian government has promised temporary housing and assistance. But the bigger question remains: what happens when the next wave hits? And it will hit. The money trail behind these attacks leads to local politicians who stoke ethnic divisions for votes. Sources in the South African police confirm that no high-profile arrests have been made.
As the second flight prepares to land, this newsroom will continue to follow the money and the bodies. The story is far from over.
