The first group of almost 300 Ghanaians repatriated from South Africa amid anti-immigrant protests there, arrived home in Accra on Wednesday.
They were welcomed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, as patriotic songs blasted over the airport speakers.
Around 800 Ghanaians have registered with the High Commissioner for repatriation flights saying they no longer feel safe in South Africa.
Accra organised them in response to a wave of protests and violence targeting both documented and undocumented foreigners in the country.
One of the repatriated Ghanaians said he had built a salon in a container but that when the attacks began, it was broken into and looted.
South Africa, the continent’s most industrialized economy, has long been a destination for both legal and undocumented African workers.
But saddled with an unemployment rate of over 30 per cent, it has seen repeated spurts of xenophobic protests including renewed violence in recent weeks.
South African immigration officials say only 10 of the 300 people in the group which included children were in the country legally with “most” having overstayed their visas.