The Ghana High Commission in Pretoria has accepted responsibility for discrepancies in records from the government’s South Africa evacuation exercise, saying they were clerical mistakes rather than evidence of false identities.
In a press statement issued on Monday, October 19, 2026, the High Commission said a recent report had suggested that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs paid reintegration and transportation allowances to people whose recorded dates of birth appeared to be in the future.
It said the errors involved 15 of the 1,964 Ghanaians evacuated from South Africa. The High Commission described them as minor clerical mistakes and said such inaccuracies could occur during emergency operations involving the sudden evacuation of large numbers of distressed citizens.
It stressed that all the Ghanaians brought home had completed the required identification, data-processing and departure procedures before leaving South Africa.
Passport details entered incorrectly
The High Commission said its review found that the dates interpreted as dates of birth were actually passport expiry dates. It acknowledged that some passport information might have been transcribed incorrectly by its officials.
However, it said the mistakes did not affect the identities of the evacuees, their participation in the evacuation operation or their entitlement to the approved reintegration and transportation allowances.
To support the correction of the records, the High Commission released the verified details of the 15 affected people. The information included their names, dates of birth, occupations, passport numbers and passport expiry dates.
Those listed were James Akoto Baffour, Precious Sekyiwaa, Philip Oduro, Victoria Eduaquah, Prince Obeng Boateng, Ebenezer Losu, Akua Brifoh, Philimon Opoku Nsiah, Rebecca Agyiwaa Opoku, Emmanuel Ampomah, Rose Pokua, Thomas Nkrumah, Rita Acouah, Rashid Abubakar and David Botwey.
The statement also clarified the travel arrangements for the Jibril family, which consisted of six people, including a mother and five children. It said they travelled using Emergency Travel Certificates, as shown in the amended list.
High Commission urges checks with official sources
The High Commission said the corrected information for the 15 individuals had been included in the amended records so that the relevant details could be updated and the public properly informed.
It said the information confirmed the identities of those concerned and matched them with their respective travel documents.
The High Commission recognised the media’s role in supporting transparency and accountability, but encouraged journalists and others to check apparent discrepancies in administrative records with the relevant official sources.
It also reaffirmed its commitment to the evacuation effort and said it was proud of the work and sacrifices made to save Ghanaians and return them safely. The High Commission added that it remained available to provide further clarification and urged the media and public to rely on the verified and corrected records.
