Emotions ran high at Kotoka International Airport as a Ghanaian woman evacuated from South Africa broke down in uncontrollable tears the moment she stepped onto home soil

She was among 295 Ghanaian nationals flown back as part of a government-coordinated evacuation following a wave of anti-immigrant sentiment and protests in South Africa. More than 1,000 Ghanaians had reportedly registered for voluntary repatriation after tensions rose and many foreign nationals said they no longer felt safe or welcome

Officials had initially prepared documents for 300 passengers on the flight. However, South Africa’s Border Management Authority confirmed that five people were stopped from leaving over unresolved immigration and documentation issues. One had a pending asylum application that needed to be formally cancelled before departure. Another held an expired passport and had not secured an Emergency Travel Certificate from the Ghanaian mission. A third attempted to travel with two children belonging to her sister without the legally required written authorization

For those who did make it onto the flight, the journey home was a mixture of relief and heartbreak. At the arrivals hall, some passengers lifted their hands in prayer, thanking God for what they described as a rescue from uncertainty. Others spoke quietly of shattered dreams, saying they had been forced to abandon businesses, homes and years of hard work in South Africa

In a video that has since gone viral, the distraught woman is seen wailing as she descends the aircraft stairs, her cries cutting through the hum of airport activity. Fellow passengers and airport staff attempt to console her, but she continues sobbing, at one point dropping to her knees on the tarmac. Her reaction has come to symbolize the emotional toll of the evacuation: the safety of home weighed against the loss of a life painstakingly built abroad

Some returnees told local media they felt they had “come back with nothing” after investing their savings in South Africa. Others said they hoped the Ghanaian government would support their reintegration and help them find work or restart small businesses

For many of the evacuees, the flight home marked both an end and a beginning: the closing of a difficult chapter in South Africa and the uncertain start of another in Ghana