Ghanaian authorities say over 200 of their citizens have signed up for voluntary repatriation from South Africa due to fear for their lives, following weeks of anti-illegal migration protests across multiple cities.
Protesters in Mthatha, Durban, Pretoria, Estcourt, Johannesburg, and other places have accused illegal foreigners of being responsible for crime and taking jobs from locals.
Ghana’s High Commissioner to South Africa, Benjamin Quashie, said his office is working with the African ambassadors network to take legal action against a local mayor in Estcourt who allegedly seized the keys of foreign business owners.
“The mayor for Estcourt has seized keys of all foreign business owners there and given them to locals. The mayor gave foreigners 21 days to pack out and leave the area. We think what the mayor is doing is illegal,” Quashie told JoyNews.
He added that the Nigerian High Commissioner and Angola ambassador confirmed receiving reports from their citizens whose business keys were also seized in the Estcourt area. “We have close to 25 Ghanaians affected in this area where their businesses have been closed. We will challenge the mayor with the law,” he said.
Ghana’s Foreign Affairs Minister has directed the high commission to begin processing the repatriation immediately. The government will bear the cost, including providing travel certificates for those without passports.
The High Commissioner said they are also exploring how to integrate returning citizens into society and find them jobs. Some business people in Ghana have already reached out to support with employment.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has condemned the violent protests, saying in an open letter that the attacks are not government policy but the actions of opportunists exploiting the frustration of poor communities.
Ramaphosa acknowledged that undocumented migration puts pressure on healthcare, housing, and other services in poorer communities, but warned that the country will not tolerate lawlessness, regardless of who the perpetrators or victims are.
Ghana has petitioned the African Union to consider the issue of xenophobia in South Africa at its mid-year coordination meeting in Egypt in June, seeking a lasting solution before tensions escalate and other countries begin reprisal attacks against South Africans.
