L’éléphant portera sur sa tête le bois que les singes ont ramassé (Proverbe Bahumbu – République Démocratique du Congo (RDC)). – Le chef doit régler les palabres du clan.
The elephant will carry on its head the wood that the monkeys have gathered (Bahumbu proverb – Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)). – The chief should settle the clan’s disputes.
We have talked so many times about the numerous puppet regimes installed throughout Africa, but we have not talked about how these regimes came to be. It is no secret that these puppet governments, particularly in francophone Africa, are inherited from colonial era, and before that from slavery times. They just morphed over time. The authorities of kings of different African kingdoms and empires were slowly reduced to those of couriers or delivery boys, totally disconnected from their original power rooted in their ancestral traditions. Those who rebelled were simply killed or deposed, or forced to bow down like Behanzin, Prempeh I, Samori Toure, and more. Once we understand this, it is now clear why today we often see African presidents run abroad to France or wherever to take their orders: when they win elections, when new rules need to be established, or their currency devalued, etc.
Pr. Bwemba Bong explains it so well in his book “Quand l’Africain était l’or noir de l’Europe. L’Afrique: Actrice ou Victime de la Traite des Noirs? – Démontage des mensonges et de la falsification de l’histoire de l’hydre des razzias négrières transatlantiques” (When the African was the black gold of Europe. Africa: Actress or Victim of the Slave Trade ? – Dismantling the lies and falsification of the hydra history of the transatlantic Slave Raids),” MedouNeter 2022, p. 170 (translated to English by Dr. Y, Afrolegends.com). In his section titled “The transformation of the administrators of the so-called French-speaking colonial Black Africa into anti-African, ethnic ogres and terrorists”, he explains :
In the political sphere, traditional African institutions were completely destroyed to make way for the establishment of the slave system, for which the disappearance of African kingdoms and empires was a sine qua non prerequisite. When European and African criminals had not simply seized their thrones, African kings and emperors were now placed under the subordination of European slave traders. This violent intrusion, through the dismantling of legitimate powers replaced by subservient structures whose survival is today represented by African “chieftaincies,” but above all by the so-called African state, has created new, artificial, and illegal territorial structures. From now on, the authority of African “rulers” had and has its source only in the wicked European law and no longer in the institutions of their ancestors.
The act of recognition by the slave-owning power now constituting the sole legal basis for the exercise of power, any structure not expressly approved because it was established by the European invading authority—which alone granted and still grants today the title of “king,” “chief,” or “president” (depending on the appropriate tactic)—was and is automatically guilty of the crime of usurpation of title, and was and is irremediably subject to deposition, or even execution, through the system of coups d’état so prevalent today in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Congratulations to Senegal for winning its second star and becoming this year’s African Cup of Nations (AFCON) Champion in what was a surreal final against Morocco on Sunday January 18, in Rabat, Morocco. The best team won. The AFCON started on December 21, 2025, and ended on January 18, 2026 in Morocco. Some of the best continental teams played in the tournament and showed us beautiful football. There were some games that were okay, while others were awesome. Until Sunday, the host country had been praised for the organization of the tournament, getting praises from big names like Mohamed Salah, for their impressive infrastructure, stadiums, the quality of the pitches, and travel links.
After a month of intense games, the final opposed The Teranga Lions of Senegal to the Atlas Lions of Morocco. At first, the game was a bit tepid but slowly built in action towards the end. At the 96th minute, Senegal’s Ismaïla Sarr scored a goal which was denied by the referee; never taking the time to check the Video Assistant Referee (VAR). Then 2 minutes later, at the 98th minute, the referee awarded a penalty to Morocco, under the pressure of the Moroccan player Brahim Diaz who insisted that he checked the VAR. The referee went on to check the VAR and allowed the penalty. Then chaos ensued. The Senegalese players were indignant, and rightfully so: why the double standard? Why check the VAR for one and not the other? If the penalty is valid, then why was the previous goal denied?
The Senegalese coach Pape Thiaw, frustrated from the referee disallowing their previous goal, and then allowing a Moroccan penalty, asked his boys to leave the pitch. While this was going on, a scuffle started in the stadium between the Senegalese fans, and the security on the field, degenerating with some exchanging blows. Some of the Senegalese players went back to the lockers while others were still standing on the pitch. Then Sadio Mané, the team’s captain went to exchange brief words with Claude LeRoy on the pitch and El Hadji Diouf, then he ran back to the lockers to call his teammates telling them “Venez, on va jouer comme des hommes!” “Come, we will play like men!” In other words, although there is injustice, let’s play, if we lose, we lose like men.
After the players returned to the field, Moroccan forward Brahim Diaz, the tournament’s top scorer with five goals, shot the penalty in a lame ‘Panenka’ effort which was caught by Senegal keeper Edouard Mendy, and the referee blew the whistle for full-time. During extra time, Senegalese player Pape Gueye then scored the winning goal at the fourth minute of extra time to seal a second triumph in five years for the Teranga Lions. Senegal won 1-0 against Morocco. There is no doubt that Senegal has had one of the strongest and most consistent teams of the past 5 years on the continent, winning 2 AFCON titles and making it to the semi-finals another time.
Most western media talk of the Senegalese “outrageous” behavior for walking off the pitch, yet, they do not talk of the reason why: their goal 2 minutes earlier had been denied in a way that seemed quite unjust. The MSM even go as far as blaming social media, because while their cameras only showed the Senegalese walking off the pitch, they forgot to show the Moroccan ball boys, players, staff, and security harassing the Senegalese reserve goalkeeper (who was standing to the side of his goalkeeper’s cage), to the point of assaulting him and dragging him by his feet for protecting a TOWEL!!! People also forget, conveniently, that there were several incidents that happened before the game that culminated with the Senegalese team’s feeling of injustice: the security before the game, the training camp, their hotel, the number of tickets, or the sudden illnesses that struck some star players, and so on. No wonder people are seeing Senegal’s win as divine justice!
FIFA’s president Gianni Infantino condemned the behavior of Senegal players and members of the coaching staff after a chaotic end to the Africa Cup of Nations final, saying violence and walk-offs had no place in football. He talks of sanctioning Senegal. Why didn’t FIFA sanction Argentina when Lionel Messi ordered his teammates off the pitch during a World Cup Qualifier game against Brazil? Lionel Messi and the Argentinian team walked off the pitch during a World Cup qualifier against Brazil in November 2023 at the Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, protesting violent clashes between police and Argentine fans in the stands, an act of solidarity and protest that delayed the match for about 30 minutes before they eventually returned to play. If FIFA sanctions Senegal, then they should also sanction Argentina! If FIFA sanctions Pape Thiaw, then Lionel Messi should also be sanctioned. Lastly, are they also going to look at the unbelievable behavior of the Moroccans players, ball boys, staff, and security toward the Senegalese keeper for his towel during the game? If Senegal gets sanctioned, then Morocco also should get sanctioned! There cannot be double standards for Africans!!!
We congratulate the Senegalese team on winning the AFCON 2025; they were real Gaïndés! We also congratulate Sadio Mané who won the Fair play man of the tournament for his outstanding sportsmanship. Above all, we thank all the teams for a great tournament and Morocco for hosting. We, in no way condone breaking rules, but Senegal showed us that we have a say in our destiny, and in the face of injustice, Mané reminded us that we should be men, and stand erect!
On December 20, at the beginning of The Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON / CAN), we were informed by the Confederation of African football (CAF)’s president Patrice Motsepe that the AFCON, Africa’s biggest international football tournament, will now be staged every four years following an edition planned for 2028 in a major change to what is currently a biennial showpiece. Was there a vote? A referendum? A poll? before this change was made?
The AFCON, Africa’s most prestigious football competition, has been held every two years since its very first edition in 1957, but over the last 15 years it has struggled to find a convenient place in the global calendar. It used to be held on even years until 2013, when it switched to odd-numbered years, to please the European football clubs, and now it will revert back to even years. It has produced legendary moments and stars like Abedi Pele of Ghana, Théophile Abega and Roger Milla of Cameroon, Laurent Pokou and Alain Gouaméné of Cote d’Ivoire, Pierre Ndaye Mulamba of Zaire (now DRC), Rashidi Yekini and Nwankwo Kanu of Nigeria, Jacques Mamounoubala of Congo-Brazzaville, El Hadji Diouf of Senegal, Salif Keïta of Mali, Hossam Hassan and Essam El-Hadary of Egypt, Rabah Madjer of Algeria, Benedict McCarthy of South Africa, and countless others. Egypt is the most successful nation in the cup’s history, winning the tournament seven times, with Cameroon winning five times and Ghana four times. A total of fifteen countries have won the cup in the tournament’s history.
Motsepe revealed the change was made as part of a significant restructuring of the international game on the continent to help it fit better into a packed global calendar. “Our focus now is on this AFCON but in 2027 we will be going to Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda, and the AFCON after that will be in 2028,” Motsepe told reporters in Rabat, on the eve of the opening game of this year’s Morocco-hosted Cup of Nations. “Then after the FIFA Club World Cup in 2029 we will have the first African Nations League… with more prize money, more resources, more competition. … As part of this arrangement, the AFCON now will take place once every four years.”
For a lover of African football, this decision makes no sense. It is no secret that European clubs have constantly been against the organization of the AFCON, because once every 2 years, they “lose” African players who need to go play for their countries for one month. These clubs try to delay their African players’ departures, or in some cases block them. From the pressure of these European football clubs, the AFCON was moved to once every odd years, as opposed to even years; then to summer in 2019 in Egypt; then now in Morocco, it is taking place from half of December to mid-January, so as not to affect their schedules; and even then they still refuse to release some players or delay others. Historically, the AFCON has always taken place from early January to early February, for one month. There are usually heavy rainy seasons in many countries on the continent in the summer, from June to August, or it is winter for those in the southern hemisphere; hence the prior choice to hold it at the beginning of the year. Now the AFCON will be moving to once every 4 years,… drum rolls… in the summer! Where is the smarts in that? It is clearly to satisfy those big clubs!
The AFCON is not just a soccer tournament or the opium of the crowds, but rather a way among others to develop the continent. Every country which hosts the tournament has to build roads, infrastructures, that help towards the development of the country, and the continent as a whole. One argument that CAF gives is that it is very costly… sure, but do we need to host the tournament in 10,000 stadiums? Wouldn’t 3 or 5 be enough? Then we are told that Africans are too poor, and their football quality is not that great. But isn’t that the point of this, to develop African football? Is the point only to be a talent pool for Europe? African populations are young, and we need to develop our own. If we cannot have those players who play in the European clubs, can’t we have locals play? We are told that there will instead be an African Nations League that will have more competitions and generate more revenues. Will the same big football clubs which currently have issues suddenly stop having issues then? It sounds more like a way to scout and retrieve sprouting talents more than anything else.
Without being pessimistic, this sounds more like the end of African football, unless something is done about it. At this rate, there is for sure no way an African team would ever win a world cup or aspire to be competitive enough to win. After the brain drain, now we have the football drain, which has been taking place for years. Let’s face it, Europe is the best place for a player, and European clubs can afford to pay them big bucks, but shouldn’t Africans have a say on their own Cup? Couldn’t their cup be about them? To those who say we live in a global world, that is true, but in order to have global stars or for the big clubs to find the next Maradona, or Pele, there needs to be a local and regular continental cup to develop the talent!
In the wee hours of 2026, while our eyes were focused on Venezuela and the consequences of the American actions in the country, another event, just as earth-shattering was taking place on the African continent. There was another coup attempt on President Ibrahim Traoré in Burkina Faso which did not succeed. The government of Burkina Faso has announced that it has thwarted yet another plot aimed at killing the country’s leader, Captain Ibrahim Traoré, and disable a drone base. Burkinabes have taken to the streets in support of Traoré.
On January 6, Burkina Faso’s Minister of Security, Mahamadou Sana, disclosed that the planned coup, which was expected to be carried out late on January 3, was neutralized “thanks to the professionalism of the intelligence services.” The operation were to “[begin] with the neutralization of Comrade Captain Ibrahim Traoré, Head of State and President of Faso, either at point-blank range or through an operation to mine his residence,” … “there were to be efforts to put the drone base out of service, and a ground military intervention by external forces.” “Our intelligence services intercepted this operation in the final hours. They had planned to assassinate the head of state and then strike other key institutions, including civilian personalities,” Sana stated.
From what we have learned, the operation was financially supported from neighboring Côte d’Ivoire. The sophisticated plan had been hatched by Lt Col Paul Henri Sandaogo Damiba, the military officer and former transition president ousted by Traoré in September 2022, the security minister said in a late-night broadcast.
The western media say that Ibrahim Traoré and his government are lying, or fabricating this story to gain popularity; they talk of “alleged coup”, using verbs like “claim”, or like BBC wrote, “Plot to kill Burkina Faso leader foiled, says junta [why are they still calling it a junta after 4 years? When Damiba was there, they never called it such].” This would not be the first time that the government of Côte d’Ivoire would have hands in the destabilization of Burkina Faso. It was through the Côte d’Ivoire channel and government, with help from Liberia, that our brother Thomas Sankara was taken out by France. Now, it would seem to be coming from Damiba, via Côte d’Ivoire, Togo, for the interests of France; as we know Damiba is the front-man for the foreign forces who want to destabilize the country. The goal being to decapitate Burkina Faso, and therefore the AES alliance which includes Niger and Mali.
For more, check out: Newsclick, BBC, AfricaNews, and countless others.
Fellow Readers, as you saw 2026 started with a bang, and we can already tell that it will not be a year for the faint of hearts! As always, Dr. Y. at Afrolegends.com will be there for you, and we thank you for your renewed interest, love, comments, and more.
The Top post of 2025 was Samori Touré: African Leader and Resistant to French Imperialism!, which made its first come back in the top 5 since 2021. As the events in the year churn, we will be there to bring even more thought provoking articles. Keep trusting, reading, sharing, reblogging, and liking. Keep your heads up, and may your year be as vibrant as the petals of this flower, and mark the beginning of something beautiful! As always, like Agostinho Neto said, “A luta continua … a vitória é certa!”
Below are the top posts of 2025 :
The year 2026 started with a bang! We were awakened in the wee hours of Saturday January 3rd with a thunderous slap across the face as we heard that the US military’s elite Delta forces had kidnapped the president of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro and his wife, from the heart of Caracas, the capital, and flown them out of the country. The news left us stunned, as it felt out-of-this world. The blatant show of force displayed by the American military and president seemed uncalled for. Yes… it showed amazing precision, all done within a few hours, over the weekend so as not to perturb the financial markets too much.
The excuse given by the Americans to strangle Venezuela and abduct its president, i.e. that it is a narco-terrorist state is simply that, an excuse. It is no secret that Venezuela has the largest oil reserves in the world, and it is also no secret that American governments from right to left (from Bush to Obama) have been trying to topple the Venezuelan government since Hugo Chavez gave their oil companies the boot and nationalized the country’s oil reserves. Venezuela sits atop an estimated 303 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, about 17 percent of the global total and more than Saudi Arabia, whose reserves stand at about 267 billion barrels. Moreover, Venezuela, as a member of the BRICS was planning to trade entirely in other currencies, which would have signaled the end of the dollar!
This show of force is nothing new, whether it is from the Americans or the Europeans… remember the joint NATO attacks on Libya in 2011 which destabilized the entire North and West regions of Africa and where we heard Hillary Clinton’s cackling after Colonel Gaddafi was killed; or the bombing of the Ivory Coast presidential palace in 2011 when the president and his wife were paraded in front of world cameras; or even the capture of Manuel Noriega of Panama by American forces which happened coincidentally (probably not) on January 3, 1990. It is good to note that, as admitted by HRC herself, Gaddafi was killed because he was about to launch the gold dinar, a currency that would have been adopted over all of Africa, thus providing an alternative to the FCFA in Francophone Africa, and eventually replacing the mighty dollar in trading. Thus, there are strong similarities between the fall of Gaddafi, and the abduction of Maduro: the end of the dollar as the mighty currency used by all to trade for oil.
The present kidnapping of president Maduro also makes us wonder how this could have been possible in just a few hours, without the presence of “The Cancer of Betrayal” our comrade Amilcar Cabral talked about. A Cancer of Betrayal which may have lingered in the heart of the Venezuelan security and state. After many years of embargo imposed on the country by the US and its cronies, money can sway many.
These actions highlight a few things. It is clear to ALL that the United Nations should either be dissolved or re-thought to serve ALL interests: it is an organization that only serves the West’s interests, the powerful North, against the South. In a statement, Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary General said “Independently of the situation in Venezuela [Guterres has previously questioned the legitimacy of Maduro’s leadership – yet he never questioned our numerous leaders who were elected with numbers out of this world] , these developments constitute a dangerous precedent. The Secretary-General continues to emphasize the importance of full respect – by all – of international law, including the UN Charter.” It is also clear to ALL, that there is no international justice… that justice works only against those of the global south who serve the interests of their people. There is no such thing as “The International Community.” It is also clear that international diplomacy or the stick to beat the weak, has been exposed for all to see… There is no international law, no respect of territorial integrity, and definitely no political independence of states. We, Africans of the global South, already knew that we were not independent, but now, even the blind can see. We have entered the era of the Far West, where the strongest can claim justice for themselves, and use the MSM to fabricate lies and tarnish, and then abduct presidents of other places. There are so many bad presidents out there, but given that they are good puppets of the West, nothing happens to them.
There are quite a few articles on the events in Venezuela, including, The petrodollar at war, Petrodollar power play, Venezuela after Maduro, and US removal of Maduro has potential to reshape global oil market… and thousands of others out there.
The message to any sensible and respectful leader is clear: beware! and more importantly strengthen yourself… for no one can face a bully without protecting oneself. This is the era of the Far West, stay alert!
African Heritage 