The gathering, over the weekend, follows an African Union (AU) resolution earlier this year, urging a unified continental position on reparations and for colonialism to be defined as a crime against humanity. It also forms part of the AU\u2019s theme for the year, \u201cThe Year of Reconciliation and Reparations, Addressing Historical Injustices.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Speaking to Channel Africa, historian and former University of Zambia lecturer, Dr Euston Chiputa, said Africa\u2019s demands are long overdue.<\/p>\n
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He noted that atrocities committed under colonial rule, including forced labour, massacres, land dispossession and the removal of cultural artefacts, have never been properly accounted for.<\/p>\n
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He referenced cases such as the genocide against the Herero and Nama peoples in Namibia under German rule, the Algerian War of Independence, and the Mau Mau rebellion in Kenya, where thousands were killed by colonial forces.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Chiputa argued that if similar crimes had been committed against former colonial powers, reparations would have been non-negotiable.<\/p>\n
\u201cLeaders are asking uncomfortable questions about how our ancestors were treated. Why don\u2019t you pay reparations? Why don\u2019t you return artefacts?\u201d he said, adding that many items taken from African communities, including human remains, remain in European museums.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
He said the rising momentum for reparations reflects a broader cultural and political awakening across the continent, driven by renewed pride in African identity, history and culture.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople are reclaiming their Africanness, their uniqueness. There is a growing push for unity, a united voice and a united agenda among African peoples,\u201d he observed.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Beyond reparations, Chiputa said African nations must pursue deeper economic restructuring, arguing that existing global trade systems remain skewed in favour of wealthy nations.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
He highlighted unfair commodity pricing, extractive profit repatriation by multinational corporations, and unequal lending conditions as key obstacles to development.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
He believes Africa must industrialise and process its own raw materials locally to gain leverage.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we use our raw materials locally and create scarcity on the international market, we can begin to set prices the way oil-producing countries do,\u201d he said. \u201cIndustrialisation is key to giving Africa a voice.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Chiputa said a combination of diplomatic pressure, united continental action and economic transformation will be essential for Africa\u2019s push for the formal recognition of colonial crimes, the return of stolen artefacts and financial reparations.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
–ChannelAfrica–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":16479,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"news-type":[44,26],"class_list":["post-16478","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-finance","news-type-general_news","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"African leaders meeting in Algiers are calling for colonial-era atrocities to be formally recognised, criminalised, and addressed through meaningful reparations. ","published_date":null,"news_description":"African leaders meeting in Algiers are calling for colonial-era atrocities to be formally recognised, criminalised, and addressed through meaningful reparations. ","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/16478","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/16478\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20270,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/16478\/revisions\/20270"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16479"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16478"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=16478"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}