Fearing xenophobic violence, about 300 Ghanaians returned home from South Africa on government-organized flights, highlighting rising tensions and disputes over their legal status.
About 300 Ghanaians fleeing rising xenophobic tensions and violence in South Africa boarded a repatriation flight on Wednesday that was organized by the Ghanaian government.
This was the first of two repatriation flights; Ghana's High Commissioner to South Africa, Benjamin Quashie, said another 300 Ghanaians would be evacuated on Sunday.
The two repatriation flights have heightened tensions between the countries over xenophobic attacks. There remains controversial disagreement regarding both the legal status of Ghanaians seeking repatriation and the official number of departing passengers.
SA officials told Daily Maverick that out of the 300 Ghanaians who boarded the flight on Wednesday, only 10 were properly documented.
“The remaining 290 have not been documented, including 26 deportees who were detained Lindela (A repatriation center in Gauteng)”, said Crispin Phiri, spokesperson for International Relations and Cooperation Minister Ronald Lamola.
The Border Management Authority (BMA), which handled the check-in process, said the Ghana Embassy had issued emergency travel certificates to travelers – one-way, single-page documents that allow a traveler to return to their country.
“Most of the passengers were found to be staying for more than 30 days, while some were found to be staying for a year or more…