Kenya: Pioneering arts festival to demand reparatory justice for Africans and people of African descent

Africans and people of African descent whose lives continue to be shaped by the discriminatory legacies of the transatlantic slave trade and colonialism must receive reparatory justice, Amnesty International said ahead of the Wakati Wetu Festival, due to take place from 22-23 October in Nairobi, Kenya.

The festival, for which Amnesty International is a partner, is the first of its kind in Africa. Wakati Wetu (which means ‘our time’ in Swahili) will see hundreds of people including artists, musicians, policymakers, philanthropists, activists and cultural educators join forces to discuss historical injustices, the ongoing impact of the slave trade and colonialism and to imagine what reparatory justice involves.

Rym Khadhraoui, Amnesty International’s Racial Justice Advisor, said:

“We often think about colonialism as something that’s finished, but we are still living in its long shadow. Across the world, people are still suffering the long-lasting effects of colonialism and struggling to get the reparations they deserve from governments.

“With many European leaders still refusing to acknowledge their responsibility to redress the persisting effects of slavery and colonialism in today’s world, the Wakati Wetu Festival provides an opportunity to come together and discuss ways to achieve justice and reparations. Reparation involves not only justice for the historic wrongs of slavery, the slave trade and colonialism, it requires dismantling contemporary systems and structures of racial discrimination and inequality. With so many incredible activists set to speak and perform, we hope to forge a path forward for those who are still awaiting justice.”

The festival coincides with the African Union’s (AU) theme of the year, recently extended to a decade, which calls for justice for Africans and people of African descent through reparations. During the two-day festival, the organizers, led by African Futures Lab, Baraza Media Lab, Reform Initiatives and Deep South Solidarity Fund, will hold sessions and artistic performances on why reparations in Africa are necessary and possible, and how civil society can help. Discussions will focus on past and present injustices; the use of litigation to achieve reparations; the role of media in shifting narratives around colonial injustices; as well as land restitution and tax justice to tackle inequalities.

The line-up of speakers and performers at the festival include award winning writer and poet, Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor, Kenyan human rights activist, Beatrice Waithera Maina, prominent Kenyan singer and songwriter Eric Wainaina and activist Naira Leite who will be spearheading the ‘One million women’s march’ in Brazil on 25 November as well as many more.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Amnesty International.