Category: Great Moments

A Heritage of great moments in the history of the continent and the black race

Who/What did we Celebrate in Africa in 2023?

On By Dr. Y.In Great Moments1 Comment

There was a lot to celebrate in Africa in 2023. Below are just a few in the sea of celebrations.

The different ministers of Mali, Guinea and Burkina Faso met to sign the agreement (Source: https://thenews-chronicle.com)

1. In January, Mali, Guinea, and Burkina Faso, three West African countries , all of whom have recently undergone military takeovers amid rising public national anger against France, have agreed to a Bamako-Conakry -Ouagadougou axis, with enhanced cooperation on matters ranging from trade to the fight against insecurity. 

FESPACO 2023

2. The biennial African film festival, FESPACO, took place this year from 25 February to March 4. On March 4, the winner, Tunisian Youssef Chebbi won the Golden Stallion of Yennenga (Etalon d’or de Yennenga) for his film ‘Ashkal‘ which centres on the investigation into the killing of a caretaker on a construction site in Carthage on the outskirts of his hometown. This year, women directors were celebrated and took home the second and third prizes, with Burkinabe filmwriter Apolline Traore, who picked up the Silver Stallion of Yennenga for the film ‘Sira‘, while the Bronze Stallion was awarded to Kenya’s Angela Wamai for ‘Shimoni.‘ FESPACO 2023: Tunisian Film ‘Ashkal’ Wins the Golden Stallion of Yennenga, and Women Filmmakers are Recognized

Papal bull from Nicholas V (Source: © Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo (Lisboa, Portugal) – Uhem-Mesut.com)

3. In March, the Vatican rejected the ‘Doctrine of Discovery’ used to Justify Colonial Quest and Theft of Land. A Vatican statement said the papal bulls, or decrees, “did not adequately reflect the equal dignity and rights of Indigenous peoples” and “therefore [the Vatican] repudiates those concepts that fail to recognize the inherent human rights of Indigenous peoples, including what has become known as the legal and political ‘doctrine of discovery.’” This is the first official acknowledgment of the Catholic Church for his first place participation in the enslavement of people around the globe, and particularly of Africans. We had published here Dum Diversas or The Vatican’s Authorization of Slavery, which highlighted the major role played by the Vatican in the slave trade of Africans over the centuries.

Inauguration of the Place des Tirailleurs-Sénégalais with Tirailleurs aged over 90-years-old on 10 March 2023 (Source: Sylvie Koffi, RFI)

4. Nine Senegalese tirailleurs, men who served for France for its liberation during the wars, have now won the right to receive their pension while living in Senegal. These men, aged 85 to 96 years, have served in the French army during the wars of Indochina and Algeria, and were forced to live in France at least 6 months per year to get their retirement pension! Can you imagine serving for a country that does not even want to pay you a dime for your services (remember Thiaroye?)? As a result, most of them never returned home. This year, they were able to finally go home. At Last: Senegalese Tirailleurs now allowed to receive their pension while living in Senegal

Zambian flag
Zambian flag

5. Following months of talks, Zambia successfully agreed new repayment terms with its state creditors on up to $6.3bn (£5bn) debt, including over $4bn owed to China. … Although the details of the deal have not yet been released [as always, populations are kept in the dark, while their future is being signed over], it appears that Zambia will be granted an extended repayment time of over 20 years, including a three-year grace period with interest-only payments. In recent years, the economic debt of Zambia has been making the locals apprehensive; this is a positive step. Zambia breathes a Sigh of Relief after $6bn Debt Deal.

Anatoli Kirigwajjo (Source: 256businessnews.com)

6. Anatoli Kirigwajjo from Uganda, the founder and CEO of Yunga, a local digital security network that enhances neighbor-to-neighbor safety, was awarded “The Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation” dedicated to developing African innovators, an award, founded by the Royal Academy of Engineering in the UK. In a modern world where drums are no longer used to alert communities, it is imperative to find a solution that will be used to alert all neighbors within a community of some impending issue. His innovation is based on the ancestral drum tradition, and the “10,000 household model” – a traditional practice where people use drums to alert their community in case of an emergency. Ugandan Engineer takes Africa’s Top Innovation Award for His Safety Invention.

Faith Kipyegon (Source: WorldAthletics.org)

7.  Africans made us Proud at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary. There were so many outstanding contributions, and amazing firsts. Hugues Fabrice Zango of Burkina Faso who took home the gold medal in the men’s triple jump, thereby offering his country its first gold at the World Championships. Letsile Tebogo of Botswana made us proud by becoming the first African to win a silver medal at the World Championships ever in the men’s 100 m, and a bronze medal in the 200 m. Faith Kipyegon of Kenya delivered! There isn’t another athlete as consistently dominant over such a range as Kipyegon, and she was rightfully selected among the best African athlete of the year; at the world championships, she won gold medals in the women’s 1,500 m and 5,000 m in Budapest. Ladies Gudaf Tsegay, Letesenbet Gidey, and Ejgayehu Taye of Ethiopia dominated their events to give us a trio winning gold, silver, and bronze medals respectively in the women’s 10,000 m. Please check out the exhaustive list of winners.

Francis Ngannou knocking down Tyson Fury in the 3rd round (Source: Eurosport)

8. Francis Ngannou, professional mixed martial artist and professional boxer, of Cameroon made us proud in the “Battle of the Baddest” against the undefeated world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, which place on October 28, 2023, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Ngannou was able to knock down Fury in the third round, taking the fight all the way to the scorecards, in which the judges awarded Fury the victory in a controversial split decision. To many, not just Africans, the real winner was Ngannou.

Map of Liptako-Gourma region (Source: aha-international.org)

9. Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger signed a Mutual Defence Pact called the Liptako-Gourma Charter, to protect their countries, and fight effectively against terrorists which have been occupying the northern parts of their territories. The Liptako-Gourma Charter establishes the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), which aims to “establish an architecture of collective defence and mutual assistance for the benefit of our populations“, Colonel and leader of Mali, Assimi Goïta wrote on X. These countries have shown that we, Africans, can take care of ourselves, without the need of puppet organizations such as ECOWAS.

Flag of Ethiopia

10. Ethiopian-American Scientist Gebisa Ejeta receives US National Medal of Science, the highest state honor attainable by scientists in the United States for his work on sorghum, and he has developed a sorghum hybrid that is resistant to drought and parasites. Thanks to the conflict in Ukraine, a lot of Africans are turning back to ancestral grains native to their lands and alternatives to wheat. How Africa Copes with the War in Ukraine : Alternatives to Wheat and How Africa Copes with The War in Ukraine: Alternatives to Wheat – Ancient Grains? We applaud Gebisa Ejeta for his contributions.

Ibrahim Traore, President of the Transition, raises the new plate renaming the boulevard after President Thomas Sankara (Source: LeFaso.net)

11. On the 36th anniversary of Thomas Sankara’s assassination, Burkina Faso renamed Boulevard in Honor of Thomas Sankara; the boulevard, one of the main streets of the capital Ouagadougou, was previously known as General Charles de Gaulle Boulevard. Thus, Burkina Faso has replaced the country’s former colonial ruler with its very own leader and inspiration to the nation, Thomas Sankara. We applaud Burkinabes for doing this, and hope to see many African countries follow in their tracks, as many streets and cities still wear the names of European men who wiped out entire peoples (Brazzaville, Port-Gentil, etc).

Woppa Diallo and Mame Bougouma Diene (Source: The Caine Prize/Guardian)

12. Senegalese couple, Mame Bougouma Diene and Woppa Diallo, has made history this week by winning the Caine Prize for African Writing [Senegalese Couple Makes History by Winning Literary Caine Prize for African Writing]. It is the first time in the history of the prize that it is awarded to a couple. Diallo is a lawyer and activist while French-Senegalese American Diene is a humanitarian and a short-story writer. There were also lots of African writers who published acclaimed work this year.

Map of Mali with its capital Bamako

13. Mali military forces succeeded in Kidal where France and Allies could not! The forces were able to liberate the city of Kidal from terrorist groups where France and its allies and the MINUSMA could not. They succeeded in a few days, where it took years for France and co. On November 14 2023, president Assimi Goïta of Mali announced the liberation of Kidal, stronghold of terrorist groups for the past few years. The news was so stunning that even the BBC who has been calling the Mali government, ‘the junta’ and all sorts of names, and always showing ugly pictures of Assimi Goïta, had to, begrudgingly write the article and for once showed him in a decent image :).

Flag of Cameroon

14. Two Cameroonian Women win the L’Oreal-UNESCO Award for Women in Science. The two scientists are Sabine Adeline Fanta Yadang, a doctor of neuroscience, and Hadidjatou Daïrou, a doctor of cellular physiology, have won the prestigious L’Oréal-Unesco Young Talent Award for Women in Science for their work on the power of medicinal plants. Congratulations to those ladies.

Who/What did We Say Goodbye to in Africa, in 2023?

On By Dr. Y.In Great Moments1 Comment
Map of Mali

We said goodbye to a lot of people and things in Africa in 2023. Below are 11 of them:

1. We said goodbye to MINUSMA, a UN peacekeeping mission in Mali, which was found to be complicit to the destabilization of the country. The organization had been in Mali for a decade, with no results except a clear collusion with the terrorists (funded by external forces) who have divided the country. On their way out, weeks before they were set to leave at the request of the Malian government, MINUSMA breached their agreements with the government for a safe handout, and left abruptly leaving all sorts of heavy artillery for the rebel groups to take over the city, but the Mali governmental forces were able to defeat the terrorists and free the city of Kidal, a rebel stronghold. Mali Forces Succeed in Kidal where France and Allies could not!

Flag of Burkina Faso

2. In February, France agreed to withdraw its troops from agreed to a request from Burkina Faso’s military leaders to withdraw all its troops from the country within a month. France to Withdraw Troops from Burkina Faso. There were other defense agreements signed in 2018; this is a rescinding on the 2018 agreements. It is the third African country from which France is forced to move out its troops: Central African Republic, Mali, and now Burkina Faso.

Map of Niger

3. On July 26, 2023, President Mohamed Bazoum of Niger was ousted by a military coup d’etat that saw the arrival of president Abdourahamane Tchiani at the helm of the country. France and the international community have been totally against the new government. This has let to a successive rupture of French relations in Niger, starting with a Niger – France Diplomatic Arm Wrestling, where the French ambassador refused to leave the country after the country told him to, which came to an end a few days ago with French troops leaving the country. Since the coup, Niger has been one of the fastest growing economies of the continent, now that the uranium revenues are actually entering the country’s coffers vs. France. All Eyes on Niger, Why is Niger so Poor and Why the Anti-French Sentiment?, Bye Bye to French Troops in Niger.

Flag of Gabon

4. On August 30, 2023, we all woke up to a military coup d’etat in Gabon by the army which ended 56 years of the Bongo dynasty by putting out Ali Bongo. We all thought we were getting someone new, but we got  General Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, who is a cousin of Bongo and used to be the bodyguard of Bongo’s father, the late President Omar Bongo. He was also head of the secret service in 2019 before becoming head of the republican guard. Unlike the coup in Niger, the coup in Gabon was applauded by France and the rest of the international community. Is the Wind of Change blowing in Gabon too?

Map of Morocco

5. In September, Never Before Seen Catastrophes hit Morocco and Libya Few Days apart: Morocco was hit by a magnitude 6.8 earthquake, the deadliest in the country in over a century, said to have claimed over 3,000 lives. Libya was hit by unbelievable floods a few days later on September 10; these floods, the deadliest ever on the continent, and said to have claimed between 5,000 – 10,000 lives, and displaced at least 30,000 people. Our hearts go out to our Moroccan and Libyan brothers and sisters. Africa stands with you. 

Ruben Um Nyobé
Ruben Um Nyobé

6. Marie Um Nyobe (born Marie Ngo Ndjock Yebga), the widow of one of Cameroon’s greatest opposition fighters and freedom fighters, the real Father of Cameroonian independence, Ruben Um Nyobé, passed away on the exact same day that her husband was murdered 65 years ago, on 13 September 1958, on the 65th Commemoration of Ruben Um Nyobe’s Murder. This came just as Cameroon and the Union des Populations du Cameroon (UPC) was commemorating the 65th year of his murder by the French forces in Cameroon.

Ama Ata Aidoo (Source: W4.org)

7. This year, we said goodbye to Ama Ata Aidoo, the first published female African dramatist with her play The Dilemma of a Ghost published in 1965. She was a Ghanaian author, poet, playwright, who served in the government of Jerry Rawlings as Secretary for Education from 1982 to 1983. So Long to Ghanaian Writer Trailblazer Ama Ata Aidoo. She belongs to the generation of African women writers who dared to speak up loud and clear about African women issues at a time when it was not common. In a 2014 interview with Zeinab Badawi of BBC, she said “People sometimes question me, for instance, why are your women so strong? And I say, that is the only woman I know.”

Ni John Fru Ndi (Source: Bonaberi.com)

8. Ni John Fru Ndi, the major political opponent to the current president of Cameroon for almost 3 decades passed away this year. Affectionately called “The Chairman,” John Fru Ndi came up at the twilight of the National Conference in Cameroon with the creation of the Social Democratic Front (SDF) in 1990. Over the years, his party came to symbolize hope in a place where there had been no ‘real’ leadership change in over 30 years. His party was seen as the main opposition party to the government for over 2 decades. GoodBye to a Courageous Leader : Ni John Fru Ndi and Ushering the Multi-Party Era in Cameroon. He has left a major imprint in Cameroon’s politics.

9. At the beginning of this month, Mali and Niger ended Long-Standing Tax Treaties with France, putting an end to a 50 years old tax treaty that mostly benefited French companies in these African countries. This will help Mali and Niger to finally be able to tax these companies that make billions in their countries, to get the funds necessary to fund their own economies.

Poster of Sarafina

10. In mid-December, we were stunned by the passing of the South African singer Bulelwa Mkutukana, also known by her stage name as Zahara, a self-taught guitarist who gained recognition with her debut album, Loliwe, in 2011. She enchanted us all with Loliwe. The album was a commercial hit and won the Album of the Year at the South African Music Awards, and loved throughout Africa. Her style fell in the Afro-Soul register with her strong beautiful voice. So long blooming flower, we will keep singing to honor you.

11. Lastly, we said goodbye to Mbongeni Ngema, the South African composer and choreographer who gave us the musical Sarafina!, the movie which focused on the event of Soweto in 1976 and which became a world sensation. 16 June 1976: Soweto Uprising from Sarafina!, The Lord’s Prayer from Sarafina, Visiting the Hector Pieterson Memorial and Museum, Remembrance: 16 June 1976 Soweto Massacre. He passed away on December 27, 2023. President Cyril Ramaphosa wrote, “[Mbongeni Ngema]’s masterfully creative narration of our liberation struggle honoured the humanity of oppressed South Africans and exposed …”

Mali and Niger end Long-Standing Tax Treaties with France

On By Dr. Y.In Great MomentsLeave a comment
Map of Mali with its capital Bamako

At the beginning of the month, Mali and Niger jointly put an end to two long-standing tax treaties with France. We know that French companies in Mali or Niger (and in other of the zone Franc countries) do not pay taxes in the African countries, but rather back in France, even though the generated revenues come 100% from the host African country. Imagine the economic losses for these countries? In most of these countries, the French companies will extract, say in the case of mining, the resources, without as much as building a single road or hospital for the local populations. One can thus understand the logic behind Mali and Niger governments’ actions. Some news media (mostly western ones) claim that now Malians or Nigeriens leaving in France will be subject to double taxation… but how many billion-euros generating Malian or Nigerien companies are there in France? The answer is ZERO! There goes that pointless argument about a few (granted there are a few) Malian citizens in France having to pay taxes, while Orano (old Areva) makes billions in Niger without paying taxes to the Niger government! Such an unfair treaty really needed to go!!!

Excerpts below are from BNN.

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Map of Niger

In a significant shift in fiscal and diplomatic relations, Mali and Niger have taken a stand against France by revoking two long-standing tax cooperation treaties. Dating back to 1972, these agreements were initially crafted to circumvent double taxation, fostering mutual assistance in tax matters.

The decision, outlined in a joint statement from the governments of Mali and Niger, hinged on France’s ‘persistent hostile attitude’ towards both nations and the ‘unbalanced character’ of the agreements. These treaties, according to the statement, have led to substantial financial deficits for both West African countries.

This move signals a potential reconfiguration of the international tax landscape and geopolitical alignments in the region, particularly between these nations and France. The revocation of these treaties also depicts a wider discontent with France’s influence in West African affairs.

Niger’s junta has also scrapped two key military agreements with the European Union aimed at combating violence in Africa’s Sahel region. Moreover, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger have withdrawn from the G5 anti-jihadist force, further intensifying the region’s security concerns.

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Maji-Maji Uprising: A German Genocide in East Africa

On By Dr. Y.In Great Moments6 Comments
German troops commanded by Wilhelm Kuhnert during the Battle of Mahenge in 1905

At the beginning of the month, on November 1, 2023, the German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier apologized for the first time for the Maji Maji massacre and other colonial crimes committed by Germany in eastern Africa in what was then German East Africa, a colony comprised of Burundi, Rwanda (Ruanda-Urundi), mainland Tanzania (Tanganyika), and a small region in modern-day Mozambique known as the Kionga Triangle. The Maji Maji rebellion led to the death of over 300,000 Africans in 1905, in Tanganyika.

As we uncover this somber chapter of the history of Tanzania (then part of German East Africa), it is important to note that the events related mark yet again another part of German history that has been erased from history books: genocides in Africa.

Map of German East Africa with the areas affected by the rebellion highlighted in red

After the Berlin conference of 1884, Germany had several colonies in Africa, German South-West Africa (Namibia), German East Africa (Ruanda-Urundi, Tanganyika, and the Kionga Triangle), Kamerun, and Togoland. Germany tried to reinforce their presence in the different regions by using repressive methods. They built roads, bridges, and more, through forced labor. In 1902, in Tanganyika, they forced the populations to plant cotton as a cash-crop for export, levying harsh taxes upon whoever would not bring a particular quota of cotton. This caused an uproar among the populations who had to leave their own cultures of edible plants to cultivate cotton that nobody ate and which brought nothing to them but tough sanctions from the German occupants. In 1905, when a drought hit, the populations had reached breaking point. It is at that time that a prophet by the name of Kinjikitile Ngwale emerged, claiming to have made a war medicine, a potion that could repel German bullets called “Maji Maji,” which means “sacred water,” maji being water in Kiswahili. Armed with arrows, spears, and doused with Maji Maji water, the first warriors of the rebellion began to move against the Germans, attacking German outposts, and destroying cotton crops. Thus started the Maji Maji rebellion which spread throughout the colony, involving over 20 different ethnic groups, leading to a war which lasted from 1905 to 1907 where 75,000 to 300,000 Africans died.

Gustav Adolf von Götzen Governor of German East Africa from 1901 to 1905

As we saw earlier, there had been the Abushiri revolt of 1888 to 1889, the Chagga revolt with Mangi Meli in the North east of Tanganyika earlier, the Wahehe (Hehe) revolt of 1891 to 1898 which culminated with the decapitation of King Mkwawa, all served as precursors to the Maji Maji uprising. The height of the Maji Maji rebellion came at Mahenge on August 1905 where several thousand warriors attacked but failed to overrun a German stronghold defended by Lieutenant von Hassel. On October 21, 1905 the Germans retaliated with an attack on the camp of the unsuspecting Ngoni people who had recently joined the rebellion. The Germans killed hundreds of men, women, and children. This attack marked the beginning of a brutal counteroffensive that left an estimated 75,000 Maji Maji warriors dead by 1907. The Germans also adopted famine as a weapon, with their scorched-earth technique which destroyed the crops of the populations creating mass starvation; Captain Wangenheim, one of German troops’ leaders in the colony, wrote to the Governor of German East Africa Gustav Adolf von Götzen, “Only hunger and want can bring about a final submission. Military actions alone will remain more or less a drop in the ocean.”

Flag of Tanzania

During his visit to Tanzania at the beginning of the month, the German president stopped at the museum in Songea which was built in homage of Chief Songea Mbano, one of the leaders of the Maji Maji rebellion, executed in 1906 by German forces. Songea Mbano was a great Ngoni warrior, hanged in 1906 during the time of German repression of the Maji Maji rebellion. Songea had been spared the death sentence because he had surrendered. However he demanded to be hanged along with the other Ngoni leaders. The Germans happily complied.

This marked a dark chapter in the history of the country, and the entire region. Today, it is also seen by Tanzanians as the beginning of true nationalism triggered by the unity of several large groups in Tanzania to fight the foreign invaders. To learn more, check out Violence in Twentieth Century – The Maji Maji Rebellion, 300,000 Tanzanians were killed by Germany during the Maji-Maji uprising – it was genocide and it should be called that, and Was Quashing the Maji-Maji Uprising Genocide? An Evaluation of Germany’s Conduct through the Lens of International Criminal Law by K. Bachmann.

Dutch King Heckled in Slavery Museum in South Africa

On By Dr. Y.In Great Moments1 Comment
Flag of South Africa

Last month, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands visited South Africa, for what was their first official visit, and decided to visit the Iziko Slave Museum in Cape Town. At the end of their visit, as they were exiting the museum, they were surprised by about 100 protesters who confronted them about their country’s part in the enslavement of Africans transported to the Americas. Excerpts below are from AP.

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Flag of the Netherlands

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — Angry protesters in Cape Town confronted the king and queen of the Netherlands on Friday as they visited a museum that traces part of their country’s 150-year involvement in slavery in South Africa.

King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima were leaving the Slave Lodge building in central Cape Town when a small group of protesters representing South Africa’s First Nations groups — the earliest inhabitants of the region around Cape Town — surrounded the royal couple and shouted slogans about Dutch colonizers stealing land from their ancestors.

… The Dutch colonized the southwestern part of South Africa in 1652 through the Dutch East India trading company. They controlled the Dutch Cape Colony for more than 150 years before British occupation. Modern-day South Africa still reflects that complicated Dutch history, most notably in the Afrikaans language, which is derived from Dutch and is widely spoken as an official language of the country, including by First Nations descendants.

San (Basarwa/Bushmen) hunters
San (Basarwa/Bushmen) hunters

King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima made no speeches during their visit to the Slave Lodge but spent time walking through rooms where slaves were kept under Dutch colonial rule. The Slave Lodge was built in 1679, making it one of the oldest buildings in Cape Town. It was used to keep slaves — men, women and children — until 1811. Slavery in South Africa was abolished by the English colonizers in 1834.

Garth Erasmus, a First Nations representative who accompanied the king and queen on their walk through the Slave Lodge, said their visit should serve to “exorcise some ghosts.”

The Dutch East India Company established Cape Town as a settlement for trading ships to pick up supplies on their way to and from Asia. Slaves were brought to work at the colony from Asian and other African countries, but First Nations inhabitants of South Africa were also enslaved and forced off their land. Historians estimate there were nearly 40,000 slaves in the Cape Colony when slavery ended.

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Dutch King Apologizes for Colonial-Era Slavery

On By Dr. Y.In Great Moments3 Comments
Slaves on board a ship

Last July, Dutch King Willem-Alexander apologized for his country’s involvement in slavery, transporting Africans to the Americas. At this point, any blind person can clearly see the rush for the New Scramble for Africa. As said earlier, although we hear these apologies, Africans are tired of these empty words followed by no actions; words spoken to put Africans back to sleep, while another New Scramble starts. Africans are not dumb: Africa is at the center of the survival of the world. Now we see all these heads of state, kings, queens, and pope, crisscross the African continent; Africans have to wake up… to not fall asleep to these sign off the continent.

Excerpts below are from DW.

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Flag of the Netherlands

The Netherlands is marking a century and a half since the end of the Dutch slave trade which transported Africans to the Americas. King Willem-Alexander used the occasion to apologize on behalf of his country.

Dutch King Willem-Alexander has apologized for his country’s historic involvement in slavery and its ongoing repercussions, as the Netherlands on Saturday begins an official event to mark 150 years since the end of slavery in Dutch colonies.

The king issued his apology during a speech marking the event.

“Today I’m standing here in front of you as your king and as part of the government. Today I am apologizing myself,” Willem-Alexander said. “And I feel the weight of the words in my heart and my soul.”

The king commissioned a study into the exact role the Dutch royal family, the House of Orange-Nassau, played in slavery in the Netherlands.

He asked for forgiveness “for the clear failure to act in the face of this crime against humanity.”

The back of a slave

Thousands of descendants from the former Dutch colony of Suriname and the Dutch overseas territories of Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao are attending celebrations in Amsterdam.

The event has been dubbed “Keti Koti,” meaning “breaking chains” in Sranan Togo, a Creole language spoken in Suriname.

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Beginning in the 17th Century, the Netherlands grew into one of Europe’s major colonial powers and was responsible for about 5% of the trans-Atlantic slave trade.

Some 600,000 slaves were transported from Africa to colonies in the Americas, and many Javanese and Balinese people were enslaved and taken to South Africa under Dutch colonial rule.

German President Apologizes for Colonial Past in Tanzania

On By Dr. Y.In Great Moments6 Comments
Flag of Tanzania

On a visit to Tanzania on November 1, 2023, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier apologized for the first time for the Maji Maji massacre and other colonial crimes committed by Germany in eastern Africa in what was then German East Africa, a colony comprised of Burundi, Rwanda (Ruanda-Urundi), mainland Tanzania (Tanganyika), and a small region in modern-day Mozambique known as the Kionga Triangle. The Maji Maji rebellion led to the murder of over 300,000 Africans at the hand of German forces in 1905, in Tanganyika .

Flag of German East Africa

President Steinmeier vowed to raise awareness of the atrocities in his country, in a step towards “communal healing” of the bloody past. “I would like to ask for forgiveness for what Germans did to your ancestors here,” Steinmeier said during a visit to the Maji Maji Museum in the southern Tanzanian city of Songea. “What happened here is our shared history, the history of your ancestors and the history of our ancestors in Germany.” “I want to assure you that we Germans will search with you for answers to the unanswered questions that give you no peace.”

Flag of Germany

A few years back, we shared how the German people we met did not even know that Germany had African colonies! or that Germany committed the very first genocide of the 20th century on African soil! What do they think was the place of Otto Von Bismark in the 1884 Berlin Conference? (Most are Unaware of Germany’s Colonial Past and the First Genocide of the 20th Century). This to say that Germans suffer from amnesia when it comes to Africa, so the German president is vowing to make it known.

We appreciate the German President’s formal apology. However, it needs to be followed by actions, and cannot be just another empty “sorry” meant to appease us so we close our eyes to future atrocities committed in the name of cooperation. Clear actions need to follow: return of remains, return of lands, opening of archives, a clear “here is what we will do to right the wrongs,…” a clear correction and inclusion in the history textbooks, and above all a clear “respect for those killed, and for those living today,” reparations, and so much more. We are tired of empty sorry!

Excerpts below are from the BBC.

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German troops commanded by Wilhelm Kuhnert during the Battle of Mahenge in 1905

The German president has expressed “shame” for the colonial atrocities his country inflicted on Tanzania.

German forces killed almost 300,000 people during the Maji Maji rebellion in the early 1900s, one of the bloodiest anti-colonial uprisings.

President Frank-Walter Steinmeier was speaking at a museum in Songea, where the uprising took place.

“I would like to ask for forgiveness for what Germans did to your ancestors here,” he said.

“What happened here is our shared history, the history of your ancestors and the history of our ancestors in Germany.”

The Maji Maji rebellion was triggered by a German policy designed to force the indigenous population to grow cotton for export. Tanzania, then known as Tanganyika, was a part of German East Africa, which also consisted of modern-day Rwanda, Burundi and parts of Mozambique.

President Steinmeier said he hoped Tanzania and Germany could work towards “communal processing” of the past. He promised to “take these stories with me to Germany, so that more people in my country will know about them.” Germany has, until recently, had “colonial amnesia”, according to Jürgen Zimmerer, a history professor at the University of Hamburg. “The brutality and the racism of this colonial empire was not understood in the German public.”

As part of the three-day visit, the president met the descendants of one of the Maji Maji leaders, Chief Songea Mbano, who was among those executed in 1906. He is now considered a national hero in Tanzania and President Steinmeier told the family the German authorities would try to find his remains.

Thousands of human remains were brought from German colonies – partly as “trophies” but also for racist research.

… On Tuesday, after meeting President Samia Suluhu Hassan in Dar es Salaam, he [President Steinmeier] promised that Germany would co-operate with Tanzania for the “repatriation of cultural property“.

Tanzania historian Mohamed Said welcomed the president’s apology but told the BBC it did not go far enough. “They decided to set farms on fire so people would run out of food and be unable to fight. This is unacceptable, in today’s world they would be taken to court,” he said.

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No Apology from King Charles III in Kenya

On By Dr. Y.In Great Moments12 Comments
Flag of Kenya

King Charles III landed in Kenya on Tuesday October 31, 2023. On his first official visit to Kenya as monarch, the king of the British gave a speech in which he acknowledged the past atrocities committed by Great Britain and its colonial legacy. He said there were ‘no excuses‘ for it, yet did not apologize! He told guests that “the wrongdoings of the past are a cause of the greatest sorrow and the deepest regret.” He recognized the “abhorrent and unjustifiable acts of violence committed against Kenyans” in their struggle for statehood adding, “there can be no excuse.” Today, he held a private meeting with the family of Kenyan freedom fighter Dedan Kimathi murdered by the British colonial regime, and whose remains are still to be found to this day; the British High Commission said that the meeting was an “opportunity for the king to hear firsthand about the violence committed against Kenyans during their struggle for independence.” Are we supposed to clap for the king? Why does it have to be a private meeting? Kimathi no longer just belongs to his family, but to the whole of Kenya as he led the rebellion to liberate the whole country; thus whatever concerns him, concerns ALL Kenyans!

Are we surprised? NO… we are used to these useless kings and presidents of the former colonial powers parading in our countries with nothing to show for… walk and expect to be treated well by us, when they have not even given us the decency of burying our dead or returning the skulls of our ancestors, let alone recognize the genocides committed by their forces on our lands, or even the trauma caused, or even our lands confiscated, futures destroyed, and our resources to this day stolen away. (France Admits Murder of Algerians … A Step Forward?, In Madagascar, People remember one of the deadliest French colonial wars in history,  French President Acknowledges French Genocide in Cameroon, Belgian King Expresses ‘Deepest Regrets’ for Colonial Past in Congo). It is just saddening that African leaders empty coffers for these parades.

Excerpts below are from the Washington Post.

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Map of Kenya with its capital Nairobi

NAIROBI — In his first public remarks as monarch on colonial atrocities, during his first visit as king to a Commonwealth country, King Charles III said there were “no excuses” for the “abhorrent and unjustifiable acts of violence committed against Kenyans” during their struggle for independence from Britain, but he did not offer the full apology that many people in Kenya have called for.

Speaking at a state banquet Tuesday, Charles hewed closely to the British government line, saying he felt “the greatest sorrow and the deepest regret” for the wrongdoings of the past. He steered clear of any language that might open a broader conversation about reparations.

Nonetheless, Britain, like other former colonial powers, is in a period of reckoning, and the king has been under pressure to address the legacy of decades of British rule in East Africa.

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Britain-Kenya relations at the “official level are very good,” said Nick Westcott, a professor of diplomacy at SOAS University of London and former director of the Royal African Society, but “that’s not to say there’s not some difficult issues that go back to the colonial period.”

… There have been calls for Charles to acknowledge, in particular, the violent suppression carried out by British authorities in Kenya during the early reign of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II. In the 1950s, British officials responded to what was known as the Mau Mau revolt — a movement to reclaim land and independence — with a brutal crackdown on the broader population. Thousands were killed and significant numbers imprisoned and tortured…

France Delivers Classified Colonization Documents to Cameroon

On By Dr. Y.In Great MomentsLeave a comment
French flag

It is no secret that France perpetrated a genocide in Cameroon in the years leading to independence and after, French President Acknowledges French Genocide in Cameroon. It is also no secret that France perpetrated a genocide in Algeria and Madagascar during the same periods (France Admits Murder of Algerians … A Step Forward?, In Madagascar, People remember one of the deadliest French colonial wars in history). Those were some of the bloodiest and deadliest French colonial wars in history, counting over at least a combined 2 million deaths, and countless injured, and displaced populations.

Ruben Um Nyobé
Ruben Um Nyobé, assassinated during the French genocide in Cameroon

Last week, France delivered classified files to a joint commission of historians from both France and Cameroon; this comes 2 years after France sped up access to Algeria War secret archives (why did it take so long?). The mixed multidisciplinary commission was created 6 months ago under the impulse of Cameroonian and French civil societies to focus on the role of France in Cameroon during the period ranging from 1945 to 1971. The commission is led by the French historian Karine Ramondy and the Cameroonian singer Blick Bassy. A big part of the work now is to collect all the information, 70+ year old information, and interviews from the remaining witnesses. Although we applaud this, and we look forward to this part of Cameroonian history being brought forward, we cannot help but wonder why the French government waited 70 years to declassify these documents? It is so reminiscent of King Philippe of Belgium’s Visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to, among other things, acknowledge the last surviving World War II Congolese veteran soldier who served for Belgium, 97 year-old Corporal Albert Kunyuku; or the story of the 9 tirailleurs Senegalais who at last are now allowed to receive their pension while living in Senegal after serving to free up France during World wars I and II (they are aged 85 to 96 years old); or the British Government which apologized for Mau Mau atrocities. Sadly, this happens when the last witnesses are on their deathbeds, or dead already. We hope to be proven wrong, but these acts feel like these governments think, “let’s open this now that there are no survivors to point out our faults, nobody to complain on the other side, no eyewitnesses left, and just gratitude for our candid opening of classified documents.” We, the descendants, and generations to come will not forget, and we will keep the memories of our ancestors alive.

Excerpts below are from AfricaNews.

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UPC Leaders (L. to R.) front row: Castor Osende Afana, Abel Kingué, Ruben Um Nyobé, Felix Moumié, and Ernest Ouandié
UPC Leaders (L. to R.) front row: Castor Osende Afana, Abel Kingué, Ruben Um Nyobé, Felix Moumié, and Ernest Ouandié, all killed by France during the Cameroonian wars of independence

In a recent turn of events, Paris willingly delivered its classified files to a commission of historians from both countries charged by President Paul Biya of Cameroon and French President Emmanuel Macron to unveil the gruesome yet often ignored part of colonisation and decolonization process of the central African country, as it would seem colonial history remained a negligible component of French Identity.

This comes as one of many actions undertaken by French President Macron to prone a new relationship with Africa.

“Since president Macron, was committed to it, Cameroonian researchers benefit from conditions of access to these files which are classified,” stated Mrs. Ramondy.

Decapitated Heads during the genocide in Cameroon

Comprised of 15 historians, the team, directed by Karine Ramondy, will work on France’s involvement in Cameroon in the repression of independence and opposition movements between 1945 and 1971.

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Nevertheless, some historians, such as Boniface Mongo-Mboussa, conceptualize memory work as selective and belonging to the realm of enchantment as opposed to the truth of history which is undeniable and indelible.

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Burkina Faso Names Boulevard in Honor of Thomas Sankara

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Ibrahim Traore, President of the Transition, raises the new plate renaming the boulevard after President Thomas Sankara (Source: LeFaso.net)

On the 36th anniversary of Thomas Sankara’s assassination, Burkina Faso rulers have officially renamed one of the main streets of the capital Ouagadougou, previously known as General Charles de Gaulle Boulevard, replacing the country’s former colonial ruler with its very own leader and inspiration of the nation, Thomas Sankara.

The event took place on October 15 at the Thomas Sankara Memorial in Ouagadougou. Attendees included relatives of the late leader, the president of the transition, Ibrahim Traore, and government officials were in Ouagadougou. During this ceremony, President Thomas Sankara was elevated to the rank of hero of the nation.

“We are heirs of the revolution” by Thomas Sankara

“Article 1. The late Captain Thomas Isidore Noël Sankara is recognised as a Hero of the Nation […] The day of homage to the late Captain Isidore Thomas Noël Sankara is to be celebrated every 15th of October in Ouagadougou,” Bassolma Bazié, Minister of the Civil Service of Burkina Faso said.

The President of the transition, captain Traoré, laid the foundation stone for the Thomas Sankara mausoleum. The mausoleum will be built on the very site of the assassination of Thomas Sankara and of 12 of his companions. The Memorial complex will contribute to the strengthening of national unity, the valorization of history and collective memory, the revival of tourism in Burkina Faso, the revitalization of cultural and creative industries, the blossoming of science productions and education.

Ibrahim Traore lays the foundation for the Thomas Sankara Mausoleum (Source: LeFaso.net)

The boulevard, previously known as Boulevard Charles de Gaulle, adjoining the memorial, has been renamed after the panafricanist icon and former president Thomas Sankara.

“Today the Boulevard has been named Boulevard Thomas Sankara instead of Boulevard Charles de Gaulle. So today we’re very proud. Because if the Boulevard had been named after imperialists, today we think that we also have heroes, we also have valiant Burkinabe [after whom we] can name these Boulevards or streets […]” [Africanews]