By Nana Karikari, Senior Global Affairs Correspondent
The government of Ghana has advised its citizens to avoid non-essential travel to South Africa until further notice. This emergency travel advisory follows a sharp rise in xenophobic attacks targeting African nationals.
In an official statement issued on June 1, Ghanaian officials expressed grave concern over increasing violence perpetrated by groups presenting themselves as anti-immigrant vigilantes. These encounters have resulted in widespread injuries, looting, destruction of property, and the forced takeover of foreign-owned businesses. The targeted nature of the violence has created growing security concerns for Ghanaian nationals living and working in South Africa.
“The government of the Republic of Ghana has observed with great concern the increasing xenophobic attacks in South Africa targeted at Africans by groups presenting themselves as anti-immigrant vigilantes, which have resulted in degrees of injuries, closure and takeover of businesses, looting and loss of properties,” the statement said.
Diplomatic interventions and mass evacuations underway
Accra has already initiated several diplomatic and protective measures to safeguard its citizens. The administration has lodged formal protests through diplomatic channels, summoned officials from South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) via the South African diplomatic representative in Ghana, and petitioned the African Union to intervene.
Concurrently, a large-scale repatriation effort is active. Officials confirmed that 300 Ghanaians have been evacuated back to Ghana this week. The first batch of evacuees arrived safely at Kotoka International Airport aboard a government-chartered Ethiopian Airlines flight. Another 600 citizens who indicated their willingness to return home are currently being processed to embark on the journey.
“The Mahama Administration has taken a number of steps, including conveying formal protests at the highest diplomatic level, summoning the South African Acting High Commissioner in Accra, petitioning the African Union and evacuating our nationals,” the statement noted.
Guidelines for Ghanaian citizens inbound and abroad
As a precautionary measure, the government urges anyone considering travel to South Africa to review their plans carefully and postpone non-essential trips until the security situation improves.
“The government of Ghana hereby advises Ghanaian nationals to exercise extreme caution in their travel plans and avoid non-essential travel to South Africa until further notice,” the advisory stated.
For Ghanaians already residing in South Africa, the government encourages regular contact with the local embassy to ensure access to consular assistance and emergency support when needed.
“Ghanaian nationals in the country are urged to maintain regular contact with the Ghana High Commission for consular services,” the statement added.
The state assured the public that it will continue working closely with South African authorities to facilitate the safe evacuation of Ghanaian nationals who wish to return home.
“The government of the Republic of Ghana will continue to collaborate with the relevant authorities of the Republic of South Africa to facilitate the evacuation of Ghanaian nationals to ensure their safety,” it said.
Accra demands decisive action from Pretoria
Ghana has called on the South African government to take decisive action to protect foreign nationals and restore law and order. The advisory highlights a growing concern within the Ghanaian government over the safety of its citizens abroad and underscores its commitment to protecting its nationals wherever they may be. Reaffirming that commitment, the government stated that it remains focused on safeguarding the welfare of Ghanaians both at home and overseas.
“The government of the Republic of Ghana reiterates its commitment to prioritising the welfare of Ghanaian nationals home and abroad,” the advisory said.
The statement urged law enforcement agencies, including the South African Police Service (SAPS), to “provide adequate security for targeted groups of Africans in its territory and take measures to enforce law and order in the spirit of genuine Pan-Africanism and African integration.”
Vigilante ultimatums fuel regional displacement
The sudden advisory coincides with an increasingly volatile situation on the ground across South African metropolitan hubs. International monitors, including Human Rights Watch and the United Nations, have raised urgent alarms over coordinated anti-immigrant campaigns. Much of the current unrest is driven by a citizen-led movement known as “March and March,” alongside prominent nationalist organizations like Operation Dudula.
These groups have accused foreign nationals of straining public infrastructure and local labor markets. Vigilante factions have publicly issued a strict June 30 deadline demanding that undocumented immigrants vacate the country. The resulting friction has triggered localized clashes and mass displacement, particularly in parts of KwaZulu-Natal, Johannesburg, and Durban, forcing hundreds of displaced African migrants to seek emergency shelter outside civic centers.
A diplomatic showdown looms at the African Union
The security crisis has rapidly evolved from a bilateral dispute into a broader continental flashpoint. Ghana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, led by Mr. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has formally petitioned the African Union Commission to address the safety of migrant populations. Accra has successfully requested that the issue be placed on the official agenda for the Eighth AU Mid-Year Coordination Meeting, scheduled for June 24 to 27 in Cairo, Egypt.
Ghanaian diplomats have officially classified the targeted attacks as an urgent pan-African concern, citing documented cases of legal residents being forcibly evicted from their homes. In response, Pretoria’s Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation expressed regret over Ghana’s decision to escalate the issue to the continental body. However, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has publicly reiterated his condemnation of xenophobic vigilantism, ordering law enforcement agencies to strictly protect all foreign residents.
Thabo Mbeki rejects immigrant blame for economic crisis
Former South African President Thabo Mbeki has aggressively pushed back against anti-immigrant scapegoating, stating that undocumented African migrants are not the culprits behind South Africa’s systemic unemployment and crime problems. Speaking at the Thabo Mbeki Foundation and AUDA-NEPAD Business Breakfast, he explicitly linked the crisis to domestic structural failures and historical economic growth trajectories that reversed after 2008. Mbeki warned that anti-immigrant campaigns run counter to the historic liberation bonds shared across the continent. His full address on the matter detailed the following arguments:
“We’ve got many problems here. The problem legitimately led to high levels of unemployment; that’s correct. High levels of crime, that’s correct. But the finger is being pointed at the wrong people,” Mbeki said. “The levels of high unemployment in this country are not due. They are not due to undocumented Africans. They are not.”
“We know the history in detail of how South Africa, from 1994 to 2002, 2008, 2009, can’t go up like this. Growth rates reach 6% from 2009 onward, going in the opposite direction. It isn’t caused by undocumented immigrants,” he noted. “The people who cause that will look at it, that decline, they are laughing in a corner there, because we’re pointing not at them, but we’re pointing somewhere else is wrong.”
“So, one prediction I will make is that the Africans will continue to come to South Africa. It doesn’t matter what you do,” Mbeki stated. “It’s a particular frame of mind with regard to South Africa, which they helped to liberate. You are not going to solve the problem of unemployment here by shouting against undocumented Africans and leaving the culprit. The culprits are sitting here. I can even tell you their names, but we’re pointing fingers at the wrong people.”
“What are we doing to say to the South Africans, the positions you are taking on this and that are wrong? Here is the truth: you are busy chasing after ghosts, and you are leaving this devil,” he added. “People are beating drums about the wrong people and failing to understand an organic connection between these Africans on the continent and these Africans here, because we’re together in the same struggle, you can’t certainly turn against them.”
Balancing continental integration and domestic strain
The diplomatic friction highlights a recurring challenge for post-apartheid South Africa as it navigates deep economic anxieties at home alongside its foundational commitment to continental solidarity. While Pretoria struggles with historic unemployment and public pressure regarding borders, regional partners like Ghana increasingly demand concrete safety guarantees for their diaspora. Finding a resolution will require balancing domestic economic reforms with the pan-African cooperation needed to safely manage migration across borders.
