This piece was written for the July 2024 edition of Postscripts, Shamillah Wilson’s monthly round-up of what’s been happening in feminist circles, her work, and some recommended reading suggestions.
Pan-Africanism, the movement to unify people of African descent and combat colonialism, racism and economic exploitation, emerged in the early 20th century. It was championed by leaders like W.E.B. Du Bois and Marcus Garvey calling for solidarity in African diaspora communities. Pan-Africanism gained momentum in the 60s as African countries achieved independence and leaders like Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana and Julius Nyerere of Tanzania spearheaded the establishment of the Organization of African Unity (1958), now the African Union (AU).
Pan-Africanist, Patrice Lumumba, who would have been 99 in July, became the Congo’s first democratic president in 1960. He believed that “Political independence has no meaning if it is not accompanied by rapid economic and social development”. He was forced out of office and later assassinated with the support of US, Belgian and British intelligence agencies in what is believed to be the US’ “first ever order to assassinate a foreign leader.”
Lumumba was assassinated not only because of the Congo’s wealth of mineral, material and natural resources but also because of his political allyship with Nkrumah, who believed Pan-Africanism was central to African unity and to challenging the status quo. Africa’s “earth is rich, yet the products that come from above and below the soil continue to enrich, not Africans predominantly, but groups and individuals who operate to Africa’s impoverishment,” he said.
Nkrumah himself was forced out of office as Prime Minister of Ghana and exiled in 1966. With these two coups, the continent was effectively recolonised.
Looking ahead, the future of Pan-Africanism lies in youth empowerment, gender equality, and sustainable development. Activists and leaders across the continent advocate for inclusive governance, cultural exchange, and environmental stewardship to achieve a prosperous and united Africa. To safeguard their future and the future of Africa, we need to understand what’s really happening on the ground.
DRC
With mineral wealth valued at 24 trillion USD, the DRC is one of the richest countries in the world. Yet more than half of Congolese people live in extreme poverty. And although the country’s arable lands could feed the whole continent, her people struggle for food. Sixty-four years post-independence, the DRC is still battling violent resource extraction, focused on its mining of minerals and metals like lithium, cobalt and many more. “The Congolese need to control their own wealth,” argues Vijay Prashad director of the Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research”. While corruption and internal rivalry have often been cited as reasons for the DRC’s impoverishment, Prashad points out that these are symptoms of colonial intervention and not the cause. “DRC institutions have not been allowed to mature. The country has 400 groups and 200 languages but this is not the problem. The DRC has always been suborned by external intervention, prevented from developing a national project to unify everyone.”
Listen to Prashad on The Congolese need to control their own wealth and read Cobalt Red: How the blood of the Congo powers our lives by Siddharth Kara to understand how modern day slavery, including of young children, under the banner of synically named “artisanal mining”, continues.
Rwanda
In a landslide victory, Paul Kagame won a fourth term as President of Rwanda in July securing 99% of the vote. Rwandan youth made up over 50% of the 98% of Rwandans who went to the polls. This despite youth unemployment being considered high at 15%. But since Kagame took over in a military coup 24 years ago which effectively ended the genocide in Rwanda, economic growth has increased sixfold. During his administration, child and infant mortality has decreased by 75%, life expectancy has increased from 47 to 67 and the country’s security situation has stabilised. Rwanda is also dubbed the Singapore of Africa because of the amount of foreign direct investment. Yet mainstream international organisations and media consider the country undemocratic and Kagame as preventing opposition. Understanding Kagame’s position, especially his involvement in the conflict in the DRC, which he ascribes to protecting Kigali’s interests, is worth exploring to surface the tightrope of complexities walked in many African countries.
Kenya
Young Kenyans, using digital activism like the popular animated cartoon character, Kapinto, mobilised Kenyans across ethnic lines for the first time to force President William Ruto to ditch his proposed Finance Bill last month. The bill would have hiked taxes and increased the cost of many basics in an economy already plagued by stagnating wages and a heavy debt burden. The protests continued in July as activists determined to force Ruto out of government complaining of corruption and impunity. When the protests turned violent – caused by criminal gangs at the behest of politicians according to activists – the Kenyan government responded with brutality, killing more than 50 protestors, and arresting more than 600, with a further 59 reported abducted. At the end of July, a Kenyan court suspended a police ban on protests shortly after it was instituted. Curiously, Ruto, who is reputed to have close ties with the US, has accused the Ford Foundation of fomenting unrest and funding protestors.
Read about the young activist-led protests in Kenyan activists rethink strategy after protests turn violent and the Kenyan government’s close allyship with the US, receiving aid, supporting US security interests, and its military ties demonstrated by Kenya’s paid role in peacekeeping in Haiti in Why is Kenya’s Ruto accusing the Ford Foundation of stoking protests?
The Sahel – Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso
At a summit on 6 July the leaders of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, met to formalise their cooperation in the Alliance of Sahel States to share resources, achieve food security and strengthen security ties as they resist French-US control. This follows the military coup in Niger in 2023 which also led to the ousting of French military and demands for sovereignty over Niger’s mineral wealth. Niger’s uranium is sold by France. This benefits energy production for the people of France and Europe in general, while most people in Niger do not have electricity. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) initially suggested it would support France, but backed off when Mali and Burkina Faso announced they would stand with Niger.
The three countries had been part of establishing ECOWAS but saw no change, especially around the sovereignty of states and security from armed groups. Niger has also demanded that the US remove its drone base, the largest in the world, from Niger. In the decade prior, the presence of French and American troops had not restored security. Under the new government Niger’s security has improved and the government has reclaimed control of the cities.
Two things to watch:
- ECOWAS, which the Alliance of Sahel States regards as a mouthpiece of France, met on 7 July and decided to try to convince the three states to return to ECOWAS.
- A document published by the French School of Economic Warfare drafted a paper on France’s economic future, which defined Pan-Africanism as the biggest threat to French interests. Sinisterly it lists the names of people working towards the “betterment of Africa, raising the consciousness of the African people around French imperialism, around the use of a currency that they don’t control and the fact that the reserve banks of these countries are found in the Bank of France”.
For more on the Alliance of Sahel States, watch West Africa Forms New Anti-Colonial Alliance. Are AFRICOM and Françafrique Doomed.
