Ghana Ready to Evacuate More Citizens from South Africa if Situation Worsens — Ablakwa

Ghana has not ruled out conducting additional evacuations of its citizens from South Africa should the security situation deteriorate further, Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has said.

Speaking on TV3’s The KeyPoints on Saturday, October 10, 2026, Mr Ablakwa revealed that Ghana’s mission in Pretoria had submitted a report describing the environment as “quite a dire situation,” with anti-immigrant sentiment continuing to rise.

He linked the renewed tensions partly to a recent ruling by South Africa’s apex court on asylum seekers, noting that the ministry’s Consular and Humanitarian Affairs Bureau was closely monitoring developments and assessing the welfare of Ghanaians who may require assistance.

Mr Ablakwa stressed that government remained fully prepared to intervene if conditions worsen.

“It does not mean that if we have another wave, a deterioration of the situation and there are Ghanaians who need assistance, it does not mean that the door is shut and that we will not move in. We will indeed,” he said.

He added that Ghana’s 72 diplomatic missions worldwide were actively tracking the wellbeing of citizens in their respective jurisdictions.

Since last year, more than 6,300 Ghanaians have been evacuated from distress situations across the globe, including from Libya, Myanmar and Cambodia. Of that number, 1,964 were repatriated from South Africa during the most recent evacuation exercise.

Touching on Ghana’s petition to the African Union (AU) over the attacks, Mr Ablakwa confirmed that the continental body had responded and indicated the matter would be placed on the agenda of its next summit in January 2027. He declined to comment extensively on the latest incidents to avoid prejudicing discussions ahead of the summit.

Nonetheless, he urged South African authorities to intensify efforts to prevent further violence against foreign nationals.