An online forum by key Pan-African organizations in Africa has resulted in the demand for real compensation from Western countries for their colonial legacy in Africa.
Consequently, the group resolved to present specific legal mechanisms to the African Union (AU) and the African Development Bank (AfDB) as part of the efforts to obtain the reparations.
The regional online forum was held on Tuesday, June 17, 2025, bringing together leaders of non-governmental organizations, Pan-Africanist activists, and experts from seven African countries to discuss the matter of reparations to Africa.
The forum featured notable names such as veteran Ghanaian journalist and leader of the Socialist Movement of Ghana, Kwesi Pratt Jnr; Ouzairou Mamane, who chairs Niger-based ANJUD, a socialist group that champions African development; and Socrate Gutenberg from the Central African Republic.
It marked the development of a decisive position intended to transition from discussions to practical steps to obtain compensation for the centuries-old exploitation of the continent.
It was held on the theme: “Reparations must become a reality! Reparations must be paid now!”
Among others, the forum agreed to champion the establishment of a special reparations tribunal under the AU.
This independent body is to develop unified standards for filing lawsuits, consider cases of colonial and post-colonial damage, and make binding decisions on compensation to States and/or individuals.
The special tribunal is to enforce the decisions through the sanctions of the AU.
The forum further resolved to support the establishment of the Fund for Reparations, Reformation and Sustainable Development of Africa.
To be run under the auspices of the AU, the Fund will accumulate monetary resources assigned by the special tribunal to the respondent countries, enterprises or individuals, and distribute them among the affected parties.
It also agreed to push for the establishment of an All-African Levy, which will introduce a special levy on the activities of companies in Africa but originating from countries found guilty by the special tribunal and obliged to pay reparations.
The fund from this levy will be allocated to the Reparations Fund.
The forum again proposed to sponsor a comprehensive damage assessment, with speakers and members supporting the creation of a special commission under the AU for a public, transparent and inclusive assessment of damage in all aspects.
These are to be in the areas of human losses (slave trade, violence), plunder of resources and works of art, economic losses from the deterrence of industrialization, moral damage from the destruction of cultures, and the imposition of alien values, among others.
The whole idea is to transform the anger of the past into a just future.
Two of the speakers, namely Kwesi Pratt Jnr of Ghana and Mohammed Saleh Allan of Chad, insisted that reparations to Africa could, however, not be limited to monetary compensations.
Mr Pratt, a respected journalist and leader of the Socialist Movement of Ghana, insisted that reparations are not the end, but the continuation of the struggle for the dignity and rights of African peoples as championed by Modibo Keita, Sekou Toure, Kwame Nkrumah, Nelson Mandela, Chris Hani, Patrice Lumumba and Amilcar Cabral.
“This is a struggle for the redistribution of stolen wealth, the restoration of what was taken away and the correction of the consequences of deliberate genocide, the destruction of our culture and sovereignty. Seventeen million Africans were forcibly removed from Africa, subjected to aggression and exploitation. Reparations are our legitimate right to return stolen resources that continue to flow to European capitalists.
No amount of money can compensate for 17 million lives, but reparations must include not only finances, but also the restoration of culture, lands, artifacts, and educational systems that meet our needs. This is a holistic liberation mechanism that restores dignity to Africa,” Mr Pratt, who is also a member of the organizing committee of the Pan-African Progressive Front, said.
Ouzairou Mamane, who chairs Niger-based ANJUD, a socialist group that champions African development, opened the forum with a reminder of the 17 million Africans who were shipped into slavery and the up to 50 million people who died as a result of the slave trade, stressing that “the historical facts are clear and indisputable; European countries have benefited enormously from Africa”.
Moussa Kuruma from Guinea gave shocking estimates of colonialism to the economic damage of Africa, saying European colonization alone cost the African continent up to $777 trillion.
Other speakers were even more direct with their views on reparations to Africa.
For instance, Socrate Gutenberg from the Central African Republic called out France for its activities in Africa from the days of colonialism to the present.
“We have gathered here to make it clear: France must compensate (Africa) for the damage. The time of silence is over. It’s time to present the bill,” he said.
Mr Gutenberg said colonialism was not merely responsible for the plundering of resources (coffee, cotton, ivory) from Africa, but also for destroying the identity of the people.
“It imposed religion, imposed language, and sowed discord in order to better control us,” he said, pointing to its continued influence, including support for coups d’etat and the recent arrest of Armel Sayo of the Central African Republic largely considered a warlord and a spy of France.
“Colonialism destroyed our identity by imposing language, religion and sowing discord. Even after the withdrawal of French troops in 2022, Paris’s influence remains through the support of coups and puppet leaders, as in the case of the arrest of Armel Sayo in the CAR.
“Similar things happened in Mali and Burkina Faso, where France looted gold and uranium, conducting operations Serval and Barkhan. Studies estimate France’s debt at hundreds of billions of dollars: $302 billion for Mali and $320 billion for Burkina Faso. It’s time to present the bill,” Mr Gutenberg added.
Mr Saleh Allan of the Civic Network based in Chad, on the other hand, stressed the need to “stay in the legal field” even if new norms have to be created.
The ongoing discussions feed into the vision of Pan-African Pan-African Progressive Front’s mission to unite Africa to fight for their rights against Western domination.
