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Ghanaians mark 2023 PANAFEST to commemorate slave trade

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Thousands of Ghanaians and Africans in the diaspora have been converging on Ghana’s historic cultural site, Elmina Castle, to mark the 2023 edition of the “Pan African Historical Theater Festival” or PANAFEST, a celebration of history, and relieve cultural traumas that led to the Atlantic slave trade.

Held every two years in the West African country, PANAFEST was inspired back in 1992 by the late great Pan-Africanist writer, Efua Sutherland, and has become a landmark festival in Ghana which gives Africans on the continent and in the diaspora a platform to address slave trade which was seen as the most traumatic interruption that ever occurred in the natural evolution of African societies.

The event, according to the organisers, is organised by the Upper East Regional office of the Ghana Tourism Authority under the auspices of the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture in collaboration with the PANAFEST Secretariat.

It is celebrated from July 23 to August 2 every year and is founded on the belief that the arts, and particularly, theater, can be powerful vehicles for communication and healing, the organisers say.

According to Rabbi Kohain Halevi, the convener of the event, the theme for the 2023 edition is “Reclaiming the African family: confronting the past to face the challenges of the 21st Century”, and is built on the premise that people must create new forms of expression and dialogue to inspire the mobilization necessary to move to higher levels of achievement.

“The idea of pan-Africanism is still an idea that is in the formulation to manifestation and maturity and that idea of pan-Africanism of bringing the African people together as one to be empowered of ourselves. It deserves its own rituals and ceremonies that are symbolic of bringing the African spirit together,” Halevi said in a statement.

“People still ask me how is Ghana doing because this is the hub of all these African slave trade. Even though it is abolished but it is still in the memory of people so they want to see actually where it did happen and this is the place so it’s time for them to come.”

According to the convener, the festival is interspersed with cultural dance performances by the Sandema War Dancers and the Sakoti Dancers.

“The event includes Emancipation Day festivities, academic lectures, musical and dance events, and commemoration visits to sites that shaped slavery in the 15th century.”

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Culture

Ghanaians kick as President Akufo-Addo unveils ‘self-honouring’ statue

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A decision by outgoing Ghana’s President, Nana Akufo-Addo, to unveil what has been described as a “self-honouring” statue outside a regional hospital in Sekondi, has been generating serious criticism from a horde of Ghanaians on social media.

President Akufo-Addo got into troubled waters when he unveiled a statue of himself at the entrance of Effia-Nkwanta Regional Hospital in Sekondi as part of his one-day “thank you” tour of the Western Region on Wednesday.

While justifying the action, Western Regional Minister, Kwabena Okyere Darko Mensah, explained that the statue honors the president’s initiatives in the region, including the rehabilitation of Effia-Nkwanta Regional Hospital, the construction of a 3-tier Sinohydro interchange, and the redevelopment of the Takoradi Market Circle.

Mensah added that the statue was meant to commemorate Akufo-Addo’s development projects during his two terms in office.

However, many Ghanaians do not reason in like manner as they see it as an act of self-promotion rather than public service.

Opposition Member of Parliament, Emmanuel Armah Kofi-Buah who condemned the statue in a post on X, said “the people of the Western Region deserve better than these self-serving displays.”

Others also echoed similar sentiments, questioning the statue’s relevance at a time when several of the president’s initiatives remain incomplete.

An X user said it would have been admirable if the president had left such recognitions to posterity.

But despite the controversy, some Ghanaians have defended the monument, praising Akufo-Addo’s contributions particularly his flagship policy of free secondary education, which he has highlighted as his most significant legacy.

One of such supporters hailed him as the architect of Ghana’s free education system.

“He is deserving of this monument – the greatest president I’ve ever had,” he wrote.

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Zimbabwe calls on UK to return remains of 19th century warriors

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The Zimbabwean government has renewed its call on the United Kingdom to repatriate the remains of its 19th century warriors who were taken away by the British colonial masters after they rose up against colonial rule.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa who made the call during a speech at the burial of independence hero, Jaison Chirinda, who died on October 27 aged 82, said the move to repatriate the remains of the warriors was part of mounting pressure on Western countries and museums to return African artefacts and historical pieces plundered during the colonial era by powers such as Belgium, Britain, France and Germany.

“We remind the British government and people that the spirits of our heroes will not rest until their remains are repatriated and interred in a dignified way,” Mnangagwa.

He specifically mentioned anti-colonial hero King Lobengula, who was forced into exile, as well as Mbuya Nehanda and Sekuru Kaguvi, who were executed by hanging for resisting colonial rule.

“Equally, the remains of our brave warriors such as Chief Chiwashira, Chief Chingaira, Chief Mapondera and Chief Mashayamombe are still held in British museums as trophies, after they were captured and killed in horrific circumstances,” Mnangagwa added.

Mnangagwa also demanded an apology from the British government for colonial atrocities they committed.

“We demand an apology and reparations from the British government,” he insisted.

He also noted that Zimbabwe believes the remains were taken to the United Kingdom as war trophies and are being used for research at Cambridge University and London’s Natural History Museum.

Investigations over the years have revealed that the Natural History Museum in the UK holds over 25,000 human remains, with a number of pieces originating from Zimbabwe.

Two years ago, the British institutions announced that they were ready to cooperate, after a Zimbabwean delegation visited the country for talks but the issue has been topical for over a decade with the British revealing that discussions on the subject began in 2014.

The British control ended in 1965, but the local white minority ruled Zimbabwe, then known as Rhodesia, until 1980, when it was renamed Zimbabwe following a guerilla warfare often referred to as the “Rhodesian Bush War.”

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