First Ghanaians set to be repatriated from South Africa over anti-immigrant protests

First Ghanaians are being repatriated from South Africa on Wednesday morning. The government authorities are repatriating the first group of 800 citizens who registered to be flown home. The BBC saw dozens of buses chartered by the Ghanaian embassy dropping off passengers at Johannesburg's OR Tambo airport around 03:00 local time (01:00 GMT) on Wednesday.

The passengers included men, women and children of all ages. A smaller group arrived in a police van and were kept apart from the majority, watched over by the police. All passengers were registered by the embassy and airport staff. Ghanaian authorities told the BBC that an initial 300 people would leave on Wednesday morning. The remaining registered citizens were still being screened and would depart at a later date. Rudolph, who runs a salon and has lived in South Africa for 10 years, said he was leaving because of the recent protests and that, "It's not comfortable for us to stay here anymore, so we have to go. I think we will find peace at home." There are an estimated 25,000 Ghanaians living in South Africa.

Ghanaian High Commissioner Benjamin Quashie told the BBC he wanted to ensure the country's citizens were safe. He said, "The Ghanaian government listened to the plight of its citizens in South Africa, who felt that their lives were in danger, who felt like the economic activity that they were engaging in had come to a standstill, who felt unwelcome in this country, and it is the responsibility of every government to ensure that its citizens are taken care of both home and abroad." He also said they had a reintegration strategy in place for those returning and that, "The government is willing to establish them in whatever business they were doing in South Africa...taking them out of here will let them know that we are not people who condone