Ghana says 1,964 of its citizens returned voluntarily from South Africa during an evacuation that ran from 27 May to 4 September 2026. Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa gave the final accounting at a briefing in Accra on Monday, 7 September; Ghana's Information Services Department published the detailed figures on Tuesday, 8 September.
The government put the total cost at GH¢49,721,786. According to the official breakdown, Ghana paid GH¢33.721 million and Engineers and Planners, a company owned by Ibrahim Mahama, contributed GH¢16 million. The spending covered chartered and commercial flights, ground transport, food, accommodation, medical care and hospitalisation, as well as support after arrival.
Each returnee received a GH¢5,000 reintegration grant and GH¢500 for transport, the government said. Medical screening, health-insurance registration, counselling and other assistance were also offered. Officials say the returnees have been entered in a database intended to connect them with employment, skills, entrepreneurship and start-up programmes; that promised follow-through will be a key measure of whether the operation delivers more than a safe journey home.
The final official count is more precise than the 'about 1,900' figure issued when the last group of 41 arrived on 4 September. The first flight prioritised children, older people, women and people who were ill. Ghana describes the exercise as voluntary, meaning it should not be reported as a blanket deportation of all participants by South Africa.
Ablakwa said four Ghanaians died in connection with the period of anti-foreigner violence and related circumstances. Those cases are not identical. Ghana says three men died in separate incidents between April and July in East London, Khayelitsha and Prieska, while a fourth man died after reaching Accra; the minister said that man had been unable to obtain care in South Africa because of harassment. The precise responsibility in each case remains a matter for investigation, and no court finding has established a single common cause.
Ghana says it has asked South African authorities for prompt investigations, arrests and prosecutions where evidence supports charges. It has also petitioned the African Union to place violence against African migrants on its agenda. Ablakwa said the AU Commission had indicated that the issue would be considered at a summit expected in January 2027; that is a scheduled diplomatic discussion, not yet an AU judgment on the allegations.
South Africa has rejected parts of Ghana's description while condemning intimidation and violence. In an official May response, its Department of International Relations and Cooperation referred to sporadic confrontations, said law-enforcement agencies had been directed to protect residents and visitors, and argued that irregular migration and its causes should also be discussed. A July statement again rejected xenophobia and said alleged crimes should be handled through South Africa's legal system.
Immigration status is another point of dispute that should not be collapsed into the safety debate. South Africa's Border Management Authority said roughly 90% of the 300 people processed for the first charter flight lacked valid status or travel documents, and Ghana supplied emergency travel certificates. That does not excuse violence or collective punishment; it does explain why the two governments have described the same movement differently.
The completed operation matters beyond its flight count. Ghana says it spent more than GH¢10.8 million on reintegration and transport allowances, and the foreign ministry is considering a diaspora consular fund for future emergencies. Publishing who received support, how the database is used and what outcomes follow would allow parliament and the public to assess the value of the expenditure without exposing returnees' personal information.
The next accountability points are clear: progress in the individual death investigations, delivery of reintegration support, the promised AU discussion and continued protection for migrants who remain in South Africa. Until those records develop, Ghana's figures should be presented as the government's final operational account, while contested claims about motive and responsibility remain attributed rather than stated as settled fact.
