Ghana’s High Commissioner to South Africa, Benjamin Anani Quashie, has announced that 610 more Ghanaian evacuees are expected to arrive in Ghana within the next three to four days, as the government accelerates its voluntary repatriation exercise amid ongoing xenophobic attacks and hostility toward foreign nationals.

Speaking to TV3 News, Quashie confirmed that two flights carrying approximately 610 people will depart for Ghana in the coming days. However, he stressed that the evacuation process will not stop there.

“The registration will continue. It will be an ongoing concern,” he said. When asked how long the exercise would last, Quashie disclosed that he had put the same question to the Foreign Affairs Minister. “He indicated to me that until every Ghanaian that wants to go home is taken home. So this process is going to continue until every Ghanaian who wants to come home is taken home.”

The High Commissioner’s remarks come as Ghana has already evacuated its first batch of 300 citizens on May 28, with hundreds more registered for voluntary return following renewed fears over xenophobic attacks.

High Commission screens evacuees on Ghanaian soil to prevent arrests

Quashie addressed claims that some Ghanaians had faced challenges registering for evacuation through the High Commission, firmly denying any systemic obstacles. He explained that the High Commission had negotiated with South African authorities to relocate the screening process to the premises of the Chancery, effectively placing the evacuees on what he described as “Ghanaian soil” during processing.

“The reason why we negotiated and got the screening to be done in the premises of the Chancery. All the officers are there in the Chancery so that if there’s any problem, they’re presumed that they are on Ghanaian soil. We’ll solve it here rather than allowing our people to go to their offices where they can easily arrest them and put them in custody,” Quashie explained.

He clarified that the only Ghanaians facing difficulties are those traveling with children who cannot prove parentage:

“The only time they’ll ask you to go for a document is people who come with children and those kids will come and tell you that ‘oh, it’s not my kid, it’s my uncle’s kid, it’s my sister’s kids.’

Those ones have laid down procedures for that in the interest of those kids. The Department of Home Affairs are strict with that. We cannot even ask them to do anything about it because they need to ascertain whether indeed these are your kids.”

Quashie also noted that some mothers are attempting to send their children back with friends while they remain in South Africa. “It’s not allowed. The law doesn’t allow it,” he said firmly. He invited any Ghanaian facing difficulties to come directly to the Chancery, where about 200 people were currently going through the screening process.

Cautious optimism as South Africa signals tougher enforcement

The High Commissioner expressed cautious optimism that the situation in South Africa might improve, noting that authorities are beginning to take action after nearly three months of tensions. “We’ve been hearing that Jacinta has been invited to appear before law enforcement. We’ve been hearing that some people will be arrested. We’ve been hearing that government is going to deploy the armed forces on the various streets of South Africa,” Quashie said.

He suggested that if these measures materialize, some Ghanaians might reconsider leaving.

“Which means that our people can go back and open up their shops when that time comes. I’m sure that nobody would want to go home under the circumstances that we find ourselves currently,” he acknowledged.

However, Quashie admitted frustration with the pace of action:

“Three months down the line, we’ve not seen the action that we want. But we are beginning to believe that they would want to show that action now, and we just give them the benefit of the doubt.”

Quashie praised the efforts of the Foreign Affairs Minister, who he said flew to South Africa personally for a day to engage with authorities despite the diplomatic difficulties.

“It’s something that I can tell you,” he said, underscoring Ghana’s commitment to protecting its citizens.

He concluded by reiterating the government’s resolve: the evacuation will continue for as long as any Ghanaian wishes to return home.

A pregnant Ghanaian woman and her 4-year-old son, who spent more than a week confined to a windowless room at Washington Dulles International Airport after arriving on valid tourist visas, are on a flight back to Ghana following a federal judge’s order on Friday, May 29, 2026, according to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Virginia.

CNN reports that hours before the flight departed, U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema stated in her order that “the welfare of the petitioners and the interests of justice are best served by allowing petitioners to return home immediately.”

At an earlier hearing in Alexandria, Virginia, Brinkema had told the U.S. government that Anabella Gyasi, 38, and her son must be released from the holding room at the airport before the end of the day.

“She cannot spend tonight at Dulles,” said Brinkema, a Clinton nominee to the federal bench, per CNN reporting. “One way or another, we’re going to get her out.”

Gyasi came to the United States on a tourist visa after securing an appointment at Akron Children’s Hospital in Ohio for her son to be evaluated for possible surgery to address severe physical abnormalities affecting his fingers on both hands.

The family had traveled to the U.S. for treatment two years earlier, but Gyasi was told her child was too young for surgery at that time. Their tourist visas expire in 2028, according to the habeas petition filed by the ACLU.

Instead of being able to board her connecting flight to Ohio, Gyasi – who is four and a half months pregnant – and her son were taken into custody after she “disclosed her fear of returning to Ghana based on the persecution she and her son faced” during questioning by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. They were then “locked in a holding room” at the airport and “denied adequate food and medical care,” the petition alleged.

Mother hospitalized twice during detention

Gyasi was hospitalized twice over the past week, initially for lightheadedness and then for vaginal bleeding, which doctors attributed to high stress and high blood pressure. Medical staff “were concerned that she was not eating enough and fed her. They even gave her food to take back with her,” her attorneys alleged in court documents. Gyasi told officials she and her son were not familiar with food in the U.S., and it was making her sick and weak.

Four days after her arrival – and after repeated requests for more food – the petition said Gyasi agreed to be deported, “fearing that she might lose her unborn child.”

“Because I’m pregnant, I am getting weaker and weaker by the day,” she told a CBP officer, according to an official transcript. Her son had “spent much of the day crying because of his hunger pains,” and CBP officers allegedly denied her request to purchase food, “saying she could only access the food they gave her.”

However, after she initially agreed to drop her asylum request, officers “offered to get her whatever food she wanted” and let her and her son shower for the first time since their detention, according to the petition. Gyasi’s attorneys said her agreement for self-deportation was prompted by “desperation for the health and well-being” of her son and her unborn child, and that she did “not wish to relinquish their asylum claims.”

Government denies mistreatment allegations

The Department of Homeland Security has denied the allegations of mistreatment, with a spokesperson stating that “everyone in CBP custody, including this individual, has access to appropriate care, including medical evaluation by a doctor, medication, and food.” The government also argued that Gyasi’s tourist visa was not valid because she “admitted under oath … her intent was not to leave the United States to return to Ghana.”

Gyasi said in a statement to immigration authorities under oath that she had been researching the possibility of claiming asylum “for the past 2 years,” after officers examined her phone and found a history of searches on the topic, according to a CBP officer. Her attorneys argue she is being punished for her honesty.

“If she did not disclose the fear that she was having about persecution in her country, she could have still entered on the tourist visas,” said Eden Heilman, Gyasi’s lead attorney with the ACLU of Virginia. “Unfortunately, because she was honest and shared her concerns, that’s what funneled her into this separate asylum-seeker category.”

After an immigration judge denied her asylum request on Wednesday, making it virtually impossible for Gyasi and her son to remain in the country, her legal team shifted focus to her well-being.

“We were very pleased that the judge recognized one fundamental principle, which is that human beings should not be detained under the conditions our client was being detained at Dulles Airport in a windowless room without access to appropriate food or medical care,” said Mary Bauer, executive director of the ACLU of Virginia.

Although Gyasi’s hopes that she and her son could remain in the United States were dashed, the judge insisted on one thing: no more nights in a windowless room.

“She’s not gonna spend tonight at Dulles,” Brinkema reiterated at the end of the hearing.

The World Bank has approved a $500 million financing package to support the rehabilitation and maintenance of at least 1,000 kilometers of rural agricultural and market access roads across Ghana.

The Ghana Market Access and Connectivity Project (GMACP) aims to address long-standing challenges posed by poor road infrastructure in rural areas, which have limited farmers’ access to markets, increased transportation costs, and contributed to high post-harvest losses.

The project is expected to directly benefit over 550,000 people by improving connectivity, reducing travel times, and strengthening agricultural value chains.

World Bank Division Director for Ghana, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, Robert Taliercio, described the initiative as a major step toward enhancing rural livelihoods and economic resilience.

“This project will improve access to markets and opportunities for rural communities while strengthening Ghana’s agricultural competitiveness,” he said.

The project is also projected to generate more than 5,000 direct jobs and over 25,000 indirect jobs through construction and road maintenance activities.

The initiative, which will be implemented by Ghana’s Ministry of Roads and Highways, incorporates climate-resilient designs to ensure long-term durability of the roads and drainage systems.