Ghana’s High Commissioner to South Africa, Benjamin Quashie, has dismissed claims by South African immigration authorities that only 10 of the first 300 evacuees returning home were legally documented, insisting that the majority have valid immigration status.

Speaking on Joy FM's Super Morning Show on May 28, Mr Quashie insisted that the facts available to both the Ghana High Commission and South African immigration authorities clearly contradict the claims.

“Let me put it on record that 80 percent of the 300 people that went to South Africa are legally documented,” he stressed.

Mr Quashie’s comments follow claims by Head of Immigration and Law Enforcement at South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs, Stephen van Neel, who said officials had uncovered widespread immigration irregularities among the evacuees.

Mr Quashie explained that the immigration official who made the comments had been directly involved in the entire documentation process from the beginning and expected him to know the facts better.

Mr Quashie said he had demanded a retraction from the official over the remarks.

“I told him that it is either he retracts the statement or he allows me to put out the facts,” he said.

According to him, he has since been informed that the statement was not made in the immigration officer’s official capacity and that further clarification would be issued.

Mr Quashie also questioned the basis upon which authorities were determining who qualified as legally documented, insisting many of the workers travelled under arrangements facilitated through the Ghana High Commission.

South Africa has been experiencing a renewed wave of anti-immigrant demonstrations and xenophobic violence. Protests in cities like Johannesburg and Pretoria have escalated into attacks on foreign-owned businesses and individuals.

This has prompted Ghana and Nigeria to launch emergency repatriation efforts to evacuate their citizens.