Ghanaian authorities are repatriating the first group of 800 citizens they say have registered to fly home from South Africa on Wednesday morning.
The BBC saw dozens of buses chartered by the Ghana Embassy unloading passengers at Johannesburg's OR Tambo Airport at around 03:00 local time (01:00 GMT) on Wednesday.
Men, women and children of all ages were present there. A small group of people also came in a police van and were kept separate from the majority of the passengers and monitored by the police.
It follows a wave of protests against illegal immigration in South African cities in recent weeks, raising fears that xenophobic violence could rise again in the country.
All passengers were registered by embassy and airport staff.
Ghanaian officials told the BBC that the initial 300 people would leave on Wednesday morning. The remaining registered citizens are still being screened and will depart at a later date.
Some departing passengers wanted to speak to journalists but Rudolph, who has lived in South Africa for 10 years and runs a salon, told the BBC he was leaving because of the recent protests.
“It is no longer comfortable for us to stay here, so we have to leave. I think we will find peace at home,” he said.
There are an estimated 25,000 Ghanaians living in South Africa.
Protesters say illegal immigrants are putting a strain on public services and have called on the South African government to do more to stop it.
The demonstrations have been organized by a group called March and March, which describes itself as a citizen-led movement for immigration reform.
It has set June 30 as the deadline for illegal immigrants to leave the country. Rudolph is concerned that the deadline could lead to violence.
“The protests started in Durban and have now spread to other provinces. So something bad could definitely happen.” He said he would never return to South Africa.
Ghana's High Commissioner Benjamin Quashie told the BBC he wanted to ensure the country's citizens remained safe.
“The Government of Ghana listened to the plight of its citizens in South Africa, who felt that their lives were in danger, who felt that the economic activity in which they were engaged had come to a halt, who felt unwelcome in this country, and it is the responsibility of every government to ensure that its citizens are taken care of both at home and abroad.”
When asked what they are doing to ensure that illegal migrants from Ghana do not come to South Africa, he said they have a reintegration strategy for returnees.
“The government is keen to set them up in whatever business they were doing in South Africa. In a way, we are also helping the South African economy, because it is clear that some of them are undocumented. So taking them out here will let them know that we are not the ones who ignore undocumented people in countries.”
Some analysts have suggested that the resurgence of anti-immigrant sentiment in South Africa may be linked to local elections in November.
In 2019, at least 12 people were killed in attacks on foreigners across the country and 62 foreign nationals died in 2008.
But organizers of recent protests have said they have been peaceful.
Earlier this month, the South African government condemned criminal acts directed at foreigners, while acknowledging that the country needs to tackle illegal immigration.