The politics of the AU as it turns to reparations, By Owei Lakemfa

Reparations is an old struggle and for Africa to make any headway, the AU needs to team up with African American support groups and the 15-member countries of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). It needs to link whatever programme it is working on with the CARICOM’s ‘Ten Point Plan for Reparatory Justice.’ On a practical level, this will include building “bridges of belonging” between Africa and the Caribbean and, allowing those in the Diaspora who want to return to Mother Africa, to do so freely.

The Africa Union’s (AU) 38th Summit from 5-16 February promised to be challenging, as the body had to elect a new Chairperson for the African Union Commission (AUC), which is its engine room. The Commission is the AU Secretariat and its Chair, its chief executive officer.

In the last eight years, that seat was occupied by Mr Moussa Faki Mahamat, who seemed to have been sleeping on duty. His country, Chad, was under the French orbit, and Faki, as Chadian Foreign Minister, and then President Idris Deby, carried out questionable activities in the Central African Republic. This led to Chadian troops fleeing that country in 2014.

When on 20 April, 2021, there was a coup in Chad by current Head of State, General Mahamat Deby, Faki, as AUC chair, refused to apply the organisation’s ‘Lome Declaration’ on the unconstitutional change of government.

Faki was not particularly trusted, especially after he had smuggled Israel into the February, 2023 AU Heads of State Summit. This was detected and angry African countries, led by South Africa, got the Israeli mole, Ambassador Sharon Bar-li, walked out of the Summit, after her accreditation and access badges were seized by the AU security.

So, for Africa, this Summit was an opportunity to rebuild, and the best place to begin was to elect a credible person to replace Faki. There were three main candidates.

Madagascar presented Richard Randriamandrato, its former foreign minister and later minister of Economy and Finance. He had worked in the AU and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), where he served for ten years. He did not appear to carry much weight and was clearly the least favoured.

Djibouti’s candidate was Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, who has been foreign minister since 2005. He had been educated in Djibouti, United Kingdom, France and Canada, and served as Ambassador to Egypt before being foreign minister. He had previously served as both the chairperson of the Council of Ministers of the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). He had been foreign minister for two decades; it meant he had practically attended all Organisation of African Union (OAU/AU) Summits in the last 20 years.

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A possible reason for Djibouti’s victory is that after Madagascar dropped out, the French-speaking bloc might have consolidated its votes in the Djibouti basket. Also, the age difference between an 80-year-old Odinga, and a 59-year-old Youssouf might have counted in the latter’s favour. Again, some consider Odinga a bit brash and too assertive.

The fact that Djibouti, with a population of less than one million and a total land size of 23,200 square kilometres, is one of the smallest countries in Africa, was not a disadvantage. In fact, it fits into the dream of the founding fathers of the OAU/AU, which is to give small countries greater say in the organisation. This is in line with the Constitutive Act of the AU, which states that: “The Organization is based on the principle of the sovereign equality of all its Members.” So, to the AU, one way of ensuring equality between Seychelles, with a population of about 100,000 people, and Nigeria, with a 230 million population, is to cede leadership to small countries.

In line with this principle, since 1964, all the eleven elected chief executive officers of the OAU/AU, except for South Africa’s Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, were from countries considered small. These were Diallo Telli, Guinea; Nzo Ekangaki and William Eteki, Cameroun; Edem Kojo, Togo; Ide Oumarou, Niger; Salim Salim, Tanzania; Amara Essy, Cote d’ Voire; Alpha Oumar Konaré, Mali; Jean Ping, Gabon; and Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chad.

Except for South Africa, 2012-2017, those from the big countries like Nigeria, Egypt, Ethiopia, Morocco and Algeria were never considered. The Ethiopian, Kifle Wodajo, 1963-64, and the Nigerian, Peter Onu, 1983-1985, occupied those offices in acting capacity.

To me, my main concern about Djibouti is that it is like a ball played around by the big powers. Four countries have military bases in that tiny country. China has in the Port of Doraleh, Western Djibouti; in the Southern part, the United States has its base in Camp Lemonnier; the French, in Base Aerienne 188; and, even Japan, without a conventional military, has its Japan Self-Defence Force Base in Djibouti.

The big fish was Raila Amolo Odinga, a famous African figure who has been Kenyan Prime Minister for five years from 2008. He is the son of famous Pan Africanist, Jeramogi Oginga Odinga.

Odinga had support amongst the big boys and in the first round of voting, Kenya had 20 votes; Djibouti, 18; Madagascar, 10; with one abstention. In the second, Kenya had two more votes and Djibouti one. But in the third round, Kenya dropped to 20 votes, while Djibuoti led with 23 votes, and Madagascar maintained its bottom position with five votes. At this point, Madagascar dropped out and Djibouti maintained its lead into the seventh round, where it won with 33 votes.

A possible reason for Djibouti’s victory is that after Madagascar dropped out, the French-speaking bloc might have consolidated its votes in the Djibouti basket. Also, the age difference between an 80-year-old Odinga, and a 59-year-old Youssouf might have counted in the latter’s favour. Again, some consider Odinga a bit brash and too assertive.

In line with the AU gender principle that if the elected AUC chair is male, the deputy chairperson must be female, and vice versa, only females remained in the deputy chair race. The Algerian had to gallop past Morocco’s Ms Latifah Akharbach, Egypt’s Ms Hanan Morsy, and Ms Najat Elhajjaji of Libya.

Not unexpectedly, the big countries took the next big seats. Selma Malika Haddadi was elected the deputy chairperson. The 47-year-old is the Algerian Ambassador to Ethiopia, its Permanent Representative to the African Union, and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA).

In line with the AU gender principle that if the elected AUC chair is male, the deputy chairperson must be female, and vice versa, only females remained in the deputy chair race. The Algerian had to gallop past Morocco’s Ms Latifah Akharbach, Egypt’s Ms Hanan Morsy, and Ms Najat Elhajjaji of Libya.

Nigeria, the ‘Giant of Africa,’ through Ambassador Bankole Adeoye, retained the powerful position of Commissioner of Political Affairs, Peace and Security (PAPS).

South Africa’s Ms Lerato Mataboge took the Infrastructure and Energy seat, Eswatini’s Mr Moses Vilakati took that of Agriculture, and Ghana’s Ambassador Amma Twum-Amoah became the Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social development commissioner.

It is difficult to say at this point if Africa has a strong enough team to move it forward. There is also the argument of whether the Political Affairs and Peace and Security department, should remained merged or surgically separated.

The theme of the AU 2025 Summit was “Justice for Africans and People of African Descent Through Reparations.”

Reparations is an old struggle and for Africa to make any headway, the AU needs to team up with African American support groups and the 15-member countries of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). It needs to link whatever programme it is working on with the CARICOM’s ‘Ten Point Plan for Reparatory Justice.’ On a practical level, this will include building “bridges of belonging” between Africa and the Caribbean and, allowing those in the Diaspora who want to return to Mother Africa, to do so freely.

Owei Lakemfa, a former secretary general of African workers, is a human rights activist, journalist and author.