Claim evacuated Ghanaians were undocumented residents in South Africa false — Ablakwa

The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has dismissed claims that Ghanaians evacuated from South Africa amid xenophobic tensions were undocumented migrants.

The clarification follows statements from South African authorities suggesting that only a small fraction of the evacuees were legally resident in the country.

Ghana has so far evacuated about 300 citizens, forming the first batch of an estimated 800 registered nationals to be repatriated.

Speaking to the media on Tuesday, May 26, Head of Immigration and Law Enforcement at South Africa’s Home Affairs Department, Stephen van Neel, said several of the evacuees had disregard the country's immigration laws.

However, speaking to the 1957 News on the sidelines of the Africa-Korea Foreign Ministers Meeting on Monday, June 1, Ablakwa described the assertion as false and misleading.

“Contrary to a lot of disinformation, misinformation, and propaganda out there, the vast majority of Ghanaians we have registered, we have looked at their documentation — these are legal migrants,” he said.

He challenged the claims from South African officials, insisting that no evidence had been presented to support allegations that evacuees were undocumented.

“The evidence does not support it. You have the security officials there with their database, their computers, their wanted list, checking fingerprints and all of that, and so far not a single Ghanaian,” he stated.

The Minister said registration numbers had continued to rise, with the government now processing over 900 nationals, beyond earlier estimates.

According to him, the evacuation forms part of President John Dramani Mahama’s directive to ensure that no Ghanaian in distress is left behind.

The Foreign Minister also used the platform to condemn xenophobic attacks in South Africa, describing them as a threat to African unity and regional integration.