NAIROBI, Kenya- Human rights defender Farida Bemba Nabourema from Togo has issued an open letter criticising French President Emmanuel Macron over his remarks at the Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi, where he described himself as a “Pan-Africanist.”
In the letter, Nabourema challenged the historical framing of the statement, arguing that Pan-Africanism was built in direct opposition to colonial domination.
“You stood in Nairobi in 2026… and declared that ‘you are the true Pan-Africanist,’” she wrote, questioning what she described as the intellectual and historical grounding of such a claim.
She argued that Pan-Africanism emerged from the struggles of Africans resisting slavery, colonial rule, and political domination, rather than from European political traditions.
“Pan-Africanism was not born in Paris,” she wrote, adding that it “was born in the holds of slave ships, in plantation fields… and in the exile of those who refused subjugation.”
Nabourema also referenced historical figures and liberation movements across the continent, saying they represented resistance to colonial systems rather than cooperation with them.
“Pan-Africanism is the political philosophy that said no to everything France spent centuries saying yes to: slavery, colonialism and neocolonialism,” she stated.
In the letter, she further accused France of historical abuses in parts of Africa, citing liberation-era conflicts and political assassinations, which she said remain part of collective memory across the continent.
She warned against what she described as attempts to redefine African political thought without acknowledging its origins or struggles.
“To claim it does not reposition France as a partner in African liberation. It desecrates the memory of every person France killed for practicing it,” she wrote.
Her remarks come amid renewed debate over France’s role in Africa, particularly after several West African states moved to reassess or end defence cooperation agreements with Paris in recent years.
At the Africa Forward Summit, President Macron called for a renewed partnership between Africa and France based on mutual respect and shared development goals.
