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Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo on called on African leaders to form a united front on demands for reparations for transatlantic slavery and colonial-era damages
Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo on called on African leaders to form a united front on demands for reparations for transatlantic slavery and colonial-era damages.
This comes close on the heels of some Western leaders acknowledging the wrongs of the colonial era in Africa. Museums have begun returning stolen African treasures and artefacts .But the concept of paying financial reparations over a trade that shipped millions as slaves from West and Central Africa remains vague.
Ghana’s leader has been vocal in calling for reparations and used his speech to the UN General Assembly this year to demand more acknowledgment of the impact of colonial exploitation.
Akufo-Addo called on Africa to work together with the Caribbean to advance reparations, labelling it a valid demand for justice. Describing slavery and colonialism as “Africa’s dark phase”, President of the Comoros and African Union Chairperson Azali Assoumani said the impact still “wreaks havoc in our population”.
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Germany’s President Frank-Walter Steinmeier this month expressed his “shame” at crimes committed during his country’s colonial rule in Tanzania. Earlier this year, the owner of the British newspaper The Guardian apologized for the role of its founders in transatlantic slavery and announced a “decade-long program of restorative justice”, following an independent probe.
