Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Ghana’s Foreign Affairs Minister, has revealed that 26 Ghanaians who were being held in South African prisons over visa-related offences have been returned home as part of the first group of evacuees from South Africa.
The group arrived at the Kotoka International Airport on Wednesday, May 27, after the government evacuated about 300 Ghanaians following recent xenophobic attacks in South Africa.
Speaking after receiving the returnees, Mr. Ablakwa said Ghanaian authorities held discussions with the South African government to ensure the detained citizens were released and allowed to travel back home with the other evacuees.
According to him, the 26 individuals had been jailed for violating visa and stay permit regulations in South Africa.
“Let me welcome the 26 Ghanaians, whom we negotiated with; they were in prison, they had been detained for visa violations. We negotiated with the South African government that since we are evacuating our nationals, we don’t want anybody behind prison and the South African government agreed with us,” he stated.
The Minister expressed gratitude to Cyril Ramaphosa and South Africa’s Foreign Minister for cooperating with Ghana’s request.
“So I want to thank President Cyril Ramaphosa and my counterpart, the Foreign Minister of South Africa, for accepting our plea,” he added.
Mr. Ablakwa further announced that no Ghanaian remains in prison in South Africa following the evacuation exercise.
“So now, there is no Ghanaian in any South African prison; we have brought all of them back home,” he said.
He explained that the evacuation forms part of government efforts to protect Ghanaians affected by the recent xenophobic violence in South Africa.
The Minister also assured the returnees that the government would provide support to help them settle back smoothly into life in Ghana.
