Ghana on Thursday announced a delay in the evacuation of more than 800 of its citizens from South Africa following outrage sparked by a viral video allegedly showing the assault of a Ghanaian man.
The footage, which circulated widely on social media, showed the attack on Emmanuel Asamoah, a Ghanaian resident in South Africa, during the latest wave of xenophobic violence targeting foreign nationals in the country.
Earlier this month, Ghana’s foreign ministry announced plans to evacuate affected citizens from South Africa in response to growing concerns over their safety.
Authorities initially scheduled the evacuation to begin on Thursday, but officials later postponed the process due to the large number of evacuees and legal procedures required by South African authorities.
The ministry stated, “Considering the numbers involved and the South African legal conditions that have to be met, including mandatory passenger screening, multi-institutional coordination and flight permits, the planned evacuation has been deferred by a few days.”
It added that officials from both countries had agreed to speed up the necessary procedures.
AFP journalists at O.R. Tambo International Airport reported that only one Ghanaian arrived at the airport on Thursday for the planned evacuation.
The Ghanaian government also promised to provide evacuees with reintegration financial support and psycho-social assistance upon their return home.
The latest developments have reignited debates across Africa over xenophobia, migration, and the treatment of African migrants despite calls for continental unity and integration.
Ghana has increasingly pushed for wider African attention to xenophobic violence and recently raised concerns within African Union discussions, arguing that repeated attacks undermine regional integration goals and free movement initiatives under frameworks such as the African Continental Free Trade Area.
Earlier this month, Ghana’s foreign minister said he had formally requested that “the South African xenophobic attacks targeted at Africans be placed on the agenda” at the upcoming AU mid-year meeting.
Meanwhile, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa recently condemned the violence, stating that “opportunists” were behind the anti-immigrant attacks and insisting that “there is no place in South Africa for xenophobia, ethnic mobilisation, intolerance or violence”.
Emmanuel Asamoah, who appeared in the viral video, has since safely returned to Ghana.