Kyebi: Participants at a reparations and reparatory justice forum have argued that Africa must address the spiritual, psychological, cultural, and developmental damage caused by slavery before any meaningful reparations program can achieve lasting impact.
According to Ghana News Agency, the legacy of the transatlantic slave trade continues to influence development, cultural identity, spirituality, trade relations, and social cohesion across Africa and the diaspora. The call emerged at a two-day roundtable organized by the Office of Daasebre Dr Twum Ampofo II in collaboration with the Dutch-based National Institute for the Study of Dutch Slavery and its Legacy (NiNsee), diaspora representatives, and other stakeholders at Ofori Panin Fie in Kyebi.
Daasebre Dr Twum Ampofo II, Chief of Asiakwa and Nifahene of the Akyem Abuakwa Traditional Area, emphasized that slavery inflicted profound physical, emotional, spiritual, and developmental harm on African societies. He highlighted that local oral history identifies Dedyase near Kyebi as one of the locations where enslaved people were held before being transported elsewhere. He stated that slavery and colonialism deprived communities of people, resources, artifacts, and development opportunities, taking them centuries back.
Participants stressed that reparatory justice should extend beyond financial compensation. Ms. Bridget Agbee-Bamfo, a Ghanaian-born civil servant based in Australia, described the psychological and spiritual consequences of slavery as among its most enduring legacies. She argued that Africans were conditioned to view foreign languages, customs, and religions as superior to indigenous systems, gradually weakening traditional knowledge, family structures, and cultural practices.
On the sidelines of the forum, Nana Fofie Afia, Nkosuohemaa I of Nana Tongo Shrine at Asokore-Koforidua, said slavery's impact remains embedded in contemporary cultural, spiritual, and economic life. She questioned the continued use of imported products in traditional ceremonies, urging greater patronage of locally produced alternatives to strengthen indigenous industries.
Participants also examined narratives surrounding African involvement in the slave trade, with some rejecting claims that Africans willingly sold their own people. They argued that the trade was sustained through organized systems of capture, coercion, and violence, resulting in the deaths of millions during capture, transportation, and the Middle Passage.
Mr. Ranger Mawuenyega, Advisor on International Relations and Diaspora Affairs at the Office of Daasebre Dr Twum Ampofo II, said the dialogue followed engagements with diaspora organizations and NiNsee during a cultural diplomacy mission to the Netherlands last year. Discussions focused on reparations, education, trade, economic empowerment, cultural restoration, and healing.
Participants identified education, capacity building, mental health support, cultural restoration, economic empowerment, and stronger Africa-diaspora engagement as key priorities for any reparations framework. The forum also referenced the CARICOM 10-Point Reparations Plan and welcomed growing international recognition of slavery as a historical injustice requiring redress.
The transatlantic slave trade, which lasted from the 16th to the 19th century, forcibly transported an estimated 12.5 million Africans across the Atlantic, with about 10.7 million surviving the journey.