Continued……. The Burkinabe government asserts it is regaining control. Key indicators - such as a sharp drop in inflation and increased agricultural output - support that claim. Construction and infrastructure development further contradict the image of a failed state.

The supposed experts cited in panic-mongering reports often lack direct ties to the region and are backed by Western defence-funded think tanks or European Union institutions. This casts doubt on the true motive behind the doomsday reports.

As David Hundeyin (@davidhundeyin on IG) argues in this video, what’s being sold as news may actually be strategic disinformation designed to manipulate public opinion and justify foreign political agendas in West Africa. What’s your take?

Video credit to @HotSpotHotSpot (X)

Sources
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/al-qaeda-affiliate-claims-200-soldiers-killed-in-burkina-faso-attack/ar-AA1ER20Z

https://www.macrotrends.net/global-metrics/countries/BFA/burkina-faso/inflation-rate-cpi

https://www.aljazeera.com/program/featured-documentaries/2025/2/19/offensive-agricole-burkina-faso-africas-new-directions

https://africanpropertymagazine.com/2025/01/10/roofing-revolution-burkina-fasos-building-boom/

https://www.csis.org/people/beverly-ochieng

AFRICA LIBERATION DAY: GHANAIANS SUPPORT TRAORÉ AND AES

On 25 May, Ghanaians marched with slogans such as ‘Hands Off the AES!’, affirming their support for the recently formed Alliance of the Sahel States, comprising Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger. In 2024, the trio exited the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) regional bloc and formed the AES confederation after ousting Western-aligned leaders in people-backed coups d’état. They went on to expel former French colonial forces from their countries and reclaim natural resources from foreign entities.

Continued…….. The AES has become a powerful symbol of African resistance against neocolonialism and imperialist interference. Many view its leadership, particularly the charismatic Burkina Faso President Ibrahim Traoré, embodying what the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), now the African Union (AU), should have been for the continent when it formed on 25 May 1963.

Ghana’s first president, Kwame Nkrumah (1909-72), envisioned an Africa united in name and action. He advocated for a sovereign continent where African countries would come together to restore the dignity of their people and integrate economically, socially, and politically. In his words, ‘No sporadic act nor pious resolution can resolve our present problems. Nothing will be of avail, except the united act of a united Africa.’

More than ever, we are witnessing a unity forged in a call to reject the betrayal of Nkrumah’s dream and to stand united against imperialism. Many are calling for a return to the visions of our ancestors, and the AES has come to represent more than a regional alliance. It has evolved into a movement of Africans globally. Being the most outspoken of the three leaders - alongside his revolutionary comrades, Mali’s Assimi Goïta and Niger’s Abdourahamane Tiani - Traoré has earned Africans’ loyalty and love for his razor-sharp stance against imperialism.

Video credits: @ghbrain_ (IG) & @magikal_gh (IG)

Sources

https://theconversation.com/ecowas-west-african-trade-bloc-shaken-as-three-member-states-withdraw-and-form-their-own-alliance-224209

https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/487930/ECOWAS-France-The-chronicles-of-a-predator-and-its-prey

https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/politics-and-government/organization-african-unity-founded

https://gateteviews.rw/we-must-unite-now-or-perish-dr-kwame-nkrumah/

https://aes.ml

https://amaniafrica-et.org/the-withdrawal-of-aes-from-ecowas-an-opportunity-for-re-evaluating-existing-instruments-for-regional-integration/

https://www.blackagendareport.com/essay-why-africa-must-unite-kwame-nkrumah-1963

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/alliance-of-sahel-states-has-disrupted-the-balances-for-those-seeking-to-dominate-its-members-mali-s-foreign-minister/3527830

https://www.dailysabah.com/opinion/op-ed/alliance-of-sahel-states-and-a-new-era-for-west-africa

https://www.blackagendareport.com/unwavering-wayiyans-bulletin-confederation-sahel-states

https://www.pambazuka.org/General-Langley’s%20Accusations

TOGO’S TRADITIONAL LEADERS PRAY FOR IBRAHIM TRAORE

Leaders of Togo’s traditional religions have chosen a representative among themselves to carry an essential message to the people of Burkina Faso: “We support President Ibrahim Traoré and will pray for his success and the prosperity of Burkina Faso.” These Togolese religious leaders are transmiting their message at a time when Africans around the world are raising their voices to call for the protection and defence of the revolutionary young Burkinabé leader.

This religious community and those who lead it are an essential cornerstone of Togolese culture and society. According to the United States government 2022 report on International Religious Freedom, about 36.9 per cent of Togo’s population practises African Traditional Religion (ATR), making it the second largest religion after Christianity. Thus, the call from these leaders to protect and defend President Traoré can potentially impact a significant sector of Togo’s population.

Continued……. On 21 April 2025, Burkina Faso foiled its sixth reported destabilisation plot, which reportedly targeted traditional and religious leaders, members of the Volunteers for the Defence of the Homeland (VDP), and the Burkina Faso Defence and Security Forces. Loyal soldiers and members of the VDP came forward to expose the plot before it could be executed Many frontline anti-Traoré plotters have since gone into hiding or have fled the country.

With all this going on, it is easy to understand the necessity of a worldwide movement calling for Traoré’s protection, prosperity, and support.

Have you attended any mobilisations or events in solidarity with Burkina Faso recently?

Video Credit: @L_Activiste226

Sources

https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-report-on-international-religious-freedom/togo/

On 21 May, Uganda's Parliament passed a controversial bill to revive military tribunals to try civilians, only months after the East African country's highest court ruled the practice unconstitutional. 

President Yoweri Museveni supports military tribunals in cases of weapons possession, escalating fears that he would sign the bill into law, thus allowing Uganda's military to prosecute dissenting civilians in a country where political repression has intensified under Museveni’s four-decade rule. 

In January 2025, the Supreme Court ruled that the military should not try civilians and directed all such prosecutions to cease immediately. Many viewed the historic ruling as a rare victory for judicial independence. However, Museveni rejected the ruling, publicly rejecting the court’s directive. With this new legislation, he is moving to rewrite the law, restoring the army’s grip over civil justice.

Continued……. The bill introduced on 13 May allows military courts to try civilians for possessing arms, ammunition or military-grade equipment. Justice Minister Nobert Mao has said the bill seeks to redefine 'exceptional circumstances' that would lead military courts to try civilians. However, critics say the law is designed to be indefinite and opens up the possibility of wholesale abuse. 

The National Unity Platform (@nup_ug on IG), Uganda's main opposition party, condemned the bill, arguing the government will use it to persecute political opponents and anyone seen as a threat to state power. Two of Museveni’s most visible challengers, NUP 2021 presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu (known as @bobiwine) and Dr Kizza Besigye (@kizzabesigye) of the Forum for Democratic Change (@fdcofficial_1), have faced military-style crackdowns for staging protests and speaking out against Museveni.

What might this bill mean for people's movements in Uganda? Let us know in the comments.

Sources

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2025/04/military-courts-the-front-line-of-ugandas-war-on-dissent/

https://www.facebook.com/NUPUgandaOfficial/photos/weve-always-called-out-on-the-regime-for-its-double-standards-and-the-use-of-mil/1007425961418089

https://www.facebook.com/NUPUgandaOfficial/photos/barely-three-months-after-the-supreme-court-judgement-nullified-the-trial-of-civ/1083735333787151/

https://apnews.com/article/uganda-opposition-trial-besigye-kidnapped-treachery-bcd411512fef33903b0c71c748ae663e#

https://apnews.com/article/uganda-opposition-besigye-kidnapped-poor-health-61cc83ee0f94aa9de1b95c05477bc2c4

https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/ugandas-parliament-introduces-bill-let-military-courts-try-civilians-2025-05-13/

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/may/01/uganda-opposition-accuses-president-military-courts-quash-dissent

https://ugandatimes.ug/2025/02/01/museveni-rejects-supreme-court-ruling-pushes-for-military-trials-for-civilians/

https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/uganda-plans-law-allow-military-prosecution-civilians-2025-04-18/

https://www.parliament.go.ug/news/3570/court-ruling-wasnt-release-order-mao

https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/05/22/uganda-passes-bill-allowing-military-trials-civilians

ISRAEL ISN'T SEEKING PEACE, BUT AVOIDING JUSTICE

In this 2023 clip, Irish Member of Parliament Richard B. Barrett contested that Israel is interested in peace, pointing to Israel’s long record of continued settler-colonial expansion as it continues to seize control of Palestinian and Syrian lands.

Israel was created to advance Western imperialism and destroyed over 500 Palestinian villages and expelled 750,000 Palestinians from their homes when the settler colony was established in 1948, known as the Nakba by Palestinians.

In 1967, Israel began its illegal occupation of the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, East Jerusalem, Syria’s Golan Heights and the Sinai Peninsula (which it gave back to Egypt after a peace deal).

The colonial occupation and expansion continue to this day. For example, as of 2023, over 730,000 Israeli settlers occupy the West Bank and East Jerusalem, according to Brussels-based NGO International Crisis Group.

Continued……. In this clip, Barrett argued Palestinians have a right to protect themselves from Israeli apartheid, as laid out in a 1990 UN General Assembly resolution.

To Pan-Africanists, Israel's tactics recall colonial methods that Africans fought to uproot: Land theft, racial oppression and collective punishment. Zi*nists had considered occupying parts of Africa before settling on seizing Palestine. Over the decades, Israel has shared counter-insurgency tools, repressive policing measures, and surveillance technologies for governments to use against Africans and grassroots social movements worldwide.

Therefore, African solidarity with Palestine is not symbolic but historical and strategic. Anyone invested in the liberation of Africa must see Israel's refusal to end its onslaught in Gaza for what it is: A refusal to end apartheid and settler-colonialism. Peace is impossible without justice, and justice requires decolonisation.

Video credit: @partisan_12 (X)

Sources

https://tribunemag.co.uk/2024/08/palestines-blood-never-dried

https://www.un.org/unispal/history/#:~:text=One%20of%20the%20two%20envisaged,population%20fled%20or%20were%20expelled.

https://peacenow.org.il/en/settlements-watch/settlements-data/population

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2022/02/israels-system-of-apartheid/

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Zionism

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/6/12/how-the-us-and-israel-exchange-tactics-in-violence-and-control

https://scheerpost.com/2025/02/25/campus-police-are-using-israeli-spy-tech-to-crack-down-on-student-protest/

https://youtu.be/OFVZl9QOroI?si=cUM_-b2I5HDqAQ2p

https://www.un.org/unispal/document/auto-insert-184801

https://www.crisisgroup.org/middle-east-north-africa/east-mediterranean-mena-israelpalestine/246-stemming-israeli-settler-violence

PIERS MORGAN CONCEDES ISRAEL G*NOCIDING GAZA

Not too long ago, a headline saying, ‘Piers Morgan Sides With Mehdi Over Israel's Genoc*de in Gaza’ would have been unthinkable.

Not anymore.

For years, Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan on X), an outspoken pro-Israel media personality, and Mehdi Hasan (@mehdirhasan on X), a pro-Palestine journalist, have represented different ends of the political spectrum on the matter of Israel’s 77-year occupation.

Sharp exchanges and fundamental disagreements characterise their on-air debates.

However, as of 21 May, the pair is finally aligned on Israel's onslaught in Gaza, about which Francesca Albanese, the UN's Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, said in March 2024 that there are reasonable grounds to believe Israel is committing g*nocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

Continued…….. As the 7 October escalation quickly evolved into a full-blown military onslaught by Tel Aviv, Mehdi Hasan asserted Israel's actions constituted a clear plan for the cleansing of the Gaza Strip (one of the crimes that constitute g*nocide). In contrast, Piers Morgan and many Western establishment mouthpieces kept denying the facts, insisting no g*nocide was taking place.

Now, the G-word is going mainstream, with reputable legal scholars agreeing that Israel's military onslaught and ongoing blockade of Gaza constitute g*nocide, according to Dutch newspaper Nieuwe Rotterdamse Courant.

British medical journal The Lancet put the death toll at over 186,000 in a July 2024 report. According to UN Women, Israel has k*lled over 28,000 women and girls since 7 October 2023, with one woman and one girl k*lled every hour. Since Israel reinstated a complete blockade on humanitarian aid in March, ending a 19 January ceasefire, it has k*lled almost 3,000 Palestinians. As of 12 May, around 500,000 are currently experiencing ‘severe food deprivation,’ according to the UN’s Integrated Food Security Phase Classification.

History will not forget Morgan and others like him who dutifully parroted imperialist lies about the origin, nature, and policy of imperialist-backed Israeli settler-colonialism in Palestine.

Video credit: Piers Morgan Uncensored (@piersmorganuncensored on X, IG, FB, TT)

Sources

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUjT-U4lSNg

https://zeteo.com/p/mehdi-versus-piers-morgan-on-lebanon

https://apnews.com/article/malnutrition-hunger-starvation-gaza-f33432592d7143767ca3797b15c6777b

https://truthout.org/articles/netanyahu-praises-smotrich-after-minister-vows-conquering-cleansing-of-gaza

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/may/06/hamas-israel-hunger-war-in-gaza

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/top-genocide-scholars-unanimous-israel-committing-genocide-gaza-investigation-finds

https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2025/05/14/zeven-gerenommeerde-wetenschappers-vrijwel-eensgezind-israel-pleegt-in-gaza-genocide-a4893293

https://www.commondreams.org/news/israel-is-committing-genocide-in-gaza

https://www.nbcnews.com/world/middle-east/ex-israel-general-warns-gaza-pariah-rcna207615

https://www.npr.org/2025/05/15/nx-s1-5399061/gaza-airstrikes-deadly-hospital

https://www.commondreams.org/news/ipc-report-gaza

https://www.aljazeera.com/program/newsfeed/2025/2/3/why-gazas-death-toll-was-raised-to-nearly-62000

https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/05/1163131

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(24)01169-3/fulltext

https://www.icj-cij.org/node/203454

https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/03/1147976

MALEMA SLAMS U.S. POLITICS: "THEY WOULDN'T DARE IN MY PRESENSE"

In this video, Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema came out at US President Donald Trump following a live telecast of Trump's confrontation with President Cyril Ramaphosa at the White House. Trump showed decontextualised videos of Malema and accused him of inciting violence against white farmers, an assertion based on the long-refuted "white genocide" conspiracy theory.

Malema retaliated against Trump and Ramaphosa, calling them cowards, liars, and disrespectful. He also reiterated the EFF's position on land reform and dismissed the US government's interference in South African politics.

Continued……The White House incident has prompted broader debate across the continent. Many Africans see Trump's comments as part of a long tradition of Western powers using disinformation and racial anxiety to sabotage African independence. The attempt to frame African leaders and liberation movements as threatening or illegitimate is an old tactic dating back to the colonial era, which has been reinforced using powerful propaganda, foreign economic pressure, and diplomatic humiliation.

Across Africa, the struggles for land reform, economic sovereignty, and national self-definition remain unwon. Malema's response has been interpreted by many as a necessary assertion of African dignity in the face of continuing Western aggression and condescension. Transcending South Africa, this event has morphed into a broader conversation about how Africa handles foreign narratives that still attempt to distort its realities and stunt its political progress from beyond Africa's borders.

Video Credit: @Joe__Bassey (X)

Sources

https://youtu.be/TObQJn_CDA8?si=bngsHTeT4VE3AVdA

https://www.bbc.com/news/live/cpqe7rp388vt

https://www.ewn.co.za/2025/05/21/julius-malema-reacts-to-trump-playing-eff-clips-to-justify-false-sa-white-genocide-claims

https://iol.co.za/news/politics/2025-05-25-julius-malema-criticises-presidents-donald-trump-and-cyril-ramaphosa-he-will-never-do-that-nonsense-in-my-presence/

https://nypost.com/2025/05/21/us-news/trump-confronts-south-african-president-cyril-ramaphosa-with-white-genocide-claims/

KENYA HOSTS AFRICOM CONFERENCE WEEKS AFTER TRAORE ATTACK

The US Africa Command (AFRICOM) is set to host a conference for African Defence Chiefs in Nairobi, Kenya, starting on 28 May 2025. According to Brigadier General George Dietrich, the conference will involve fields such as emerging technologies, professional military education, and civilian-military cooperation.

It comes barely 5 weeks after AFRICOM commander General Michael Langley accused Burkina Faso's leader Ibrahim Traore of using the country's gold to consolidate power. His comments sparked outrage across the continent and the global African diaspora, as events on the ground, such as economic growth, increased security capacity, and removal of colonial-era barriers with Mali and Niger, all point toward leadership that is in tune with the people's wishes. Langley's statements were likened to consent-manufacturing operations deployed against previous icons such as Muammar Gaddafi in the build-up to violent regime-change operations. 

Continued……
The choice of Nairobi to host the AFRICOM conference is part of an embarrassing pro-imperialist pattern in Kenya. Kenyan police are currently in Haiti, carrying out a US-funded occupation mission. President William Ruto's administration has also been implicated in the destabilisation of Sudan due to its close ties with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) -backed proxy Rapid Support Forces, fighting a destructive war against the Sudanese Armed Forces. AFRICOM and Nairobi may also share animosity against the Alliance of Sahelian States, as President Ruto was a rare African voice who condemned the popular revolutionary coup against Western favourite Mohamed Bazoum in Niger.

Nairobi and Washington share close ties, with Kenya hosting at least two US military bases. Kenya's law enforcement, accused of human rights violations such as abductions and extrajudicial killings, can credit a lot of their training and equipment to the US's Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). 

US military presence in East Africa has not neutralised the terror group al-Shabaab, just as it failed to neutralise terror groups in the Sahel, leading to its eviction from Niger and the loss of the world's most expensive drone base at Agadez.

What is the likely outcome of this conference?

Sources
https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/news/east-africa/african-military-chiefs-converge-in-nairobi-for-africom-summit-5057854

https://iloveafrica.com/u-s-general-accuses-traore/

https://www.msn.com/en-us/war-and-conflicts/general/who-is-michael-langley-us-general-who-sparked-uproar-after-criticizing-ibrahim-traore/ar-AA1Dsizq

https://www.latribunedufaso.net/?p=18911

https://x.com/CapitaineIb226/status/1926308521454284802

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2011/4/15/western-leaders-insist-gaddafi-must-go

https://responsiblestatecraft.org/gangs-police-haiti/

https://nation.africa/kenya/news/rapid-support-forces-and-the-william-ruto-sudan-war-link-4932366

https://www.africanews.com/2023/07/28/kenyan-president-william-ruto-condemns-niger-coup/

https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/2963234/at-manda-bay-investigation-finds-no-single-point-of-failure-but-many-recommenda/

https://mwakilishi.com/article/kenya-news/2021-06-20/us-troops-set-up-new-camp-in-kenya-to-boost-regional-security

https://declassifieduk.org/the-militarisation-of-us-africa-policy-how-the-cia-came-to-lead-deadly-counter-terrorism-operations-in-kenya/

https://theintercept.com/2023/04/02/us-military-counterterrorism-niger/

https://www.londontimes.live/global-issues/air-base-201-is-the-worlds-largest-and-most-expensive-drone-base-its-the-pentagons-most-strategic-military-asset-in-sub-saharan-africa/

PRESIDENT TRAORE TELLS STUDENTS TO STUDY SCIENCE

From 9-11 May 2025, President Ibrahim Traoré of Burkina Faso visited Moscow, Russia, for the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over N*zi Germany. While in Moscow, President Traoré met with Burkinabé and other African students completing their degrees in Russia. For Traoré, this was the perfect opportunity to encourage the students to increase their scientific knowledge and bring skills back to Burkina Faso that will further the country's security and defence.

In this video, Traoré explains that Burkina Faso lacks certain chemicals necessary to transform cotton into gunpowder and explosives. It is no secret that the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) confederation, which Burkina Faso belongs to, is seeking to develop a local weapons industry. Traore's fellow AES President Assimi Goïta declared in January,

"The process of equipping the armed and security forces will be perfected in 2025 with the establishment of a military industry.

Continued….. We are actively working on the installation of the armaments factory with units for the assembly of individual and collective weapons, the assembly of light tactical vehicles, and the manufacture of ammunition and explosives for civilian use."

It is clear that the AES presidents want to become more self-sufficient in their capacity to defend the region.

Video Credit: Viory

Sources

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pCTQhyw8_Q

https://yop.l-frii.com/burkina-faso-apres-une-visite-de-72-heures-en-russie-ibrahim-traore-a-quitte-moscou-pour/

https://yop.l-frii.com/aes-7/

EMMANUEL MACRON TAKING MORE LOSSES

French President Emmanuel Macron has had a tough few years, and his troubles appear to be mounting following a video from a recent trip to Vietnam, in which his wife, Brigitte, looks to have slapped him in the face while wearing a red jacket.

Paris has been left in apparent panic since 'former African colonies' booted France following people-backed coups d'état in recent years. Mali initiated the move in 2022 by expelling French troops and cutting off military ties. Then, Burkina Faso and Niger followed in 2023. On 6 July 2024, the three countries formed the anti-imperialist Alliance of Sahel States. Non-AES countries, such as Chad have followed suit and Senegal has also begun withdrawing French troops.

Continued……. Some of these actions prompted Macron to deliver a scathing speech on 6 January, calling African leaders 'ungrateful' for not acknowledging France's role in supposedly preventing Islamist militants from taking control in Africa's Sahel region and stating that these countries would not be functional today without French military intervention. Indeed, since Western occupations of the Sahel following the 2011 US-led NATO invasion of Libya, t*rrorism in the Sahel has led to more than half of the world's t*rrorism-related deaths. Just last month, think tank Vision of Humanity called it a 'notable increase from the 1 per cent it represented [17] years ago!’

Macron's 6 January speech met widespread backlash from the continent and the diaspora. One of the African leaders who denounced Macron's remarks included Burkina Faso's outspoken President Ibrahim Traoré. 'If there is an ingrate, it is him … France exists today thanks to our ancestors. He should pray to us,' Traoré told a roaring crowd in Ouagadougou.

It seems France is gradually being relegated to its rightful place in history as a thieving colonial and neo-colonial power starved of its exploits. As the cliche goes, you reap what you sow.

Sources

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTXm-2JfnfQ

https://thearabweekly.com/macron-irks-africans-calling-putschists-ungrateful-told-he-wrong-era

https://www.euronews.com/2025/01/07/macron-calls-west-african-leaders-ungrateful-for-not-recognising-fight-against-islamist-te

https://eastleighvoice.co.ke/africa/102478/senegal-chad-accuse-french-president-macron-of-contempt-over-remarks-on-african-ingratitude

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/8/16/last-french-troops-leave-mali-ending-nine-year-deployment

https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/burkina-faso-marks-official-end-french-military-operations-its-soil-2023-02-19/

https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/last-french-troops-leave-niger-military-cooperation-officially-ends-2023-12-22/

https://www.dw.com/en/why-chad-ended-its-military-deal-with-france/a-71173204

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/2/12/french-troops-set-to-exit-senegal-by-end-of-2025

https://jacobin.com/2023/12/france-africa-empire-neocolonialism-domestic-far-right-repression-elites

https://reliefweb.int/report/world/global-terrorism-index-2025

https://www.visionofhumanity.org/shifting-sands-in-security-foreign-counterterrorism-influences-in-the-sahel

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/frances-macron-insulting-all-africans-says-burkina-faso-president/3450047

As a Pan-Africanist news outlet, we advocate for our people to build a united and prosperous continent. However, we must point out this example of imperialist powers extracting our wealth when some Africans need to move to the Global North to find a way to make a living because neo-colonial powers have collaborated with pliant African ‘leaders’ to continue exploiting us on the continent.

London-based LAGO Collective, a research and creative collective on migration, culture and the arts, has found that Africans lost approximately $67.5 million in rejected Schengen area visa application fees to Europe in 2024. The Schengen area comprises 29 EU and non-EU countries, representing the world’s largest visa-free travel zone, according to the EU. Africa represented 40 per cent of the total amount accrued from non-refundable application fees for denied visas.

Continued……‘The poorest countries in the world pay the richest countries in the world money for not getting visas,’ according to LAGO Collective founder Marta Foresti, whom CNN interviewed. Based on data the organisation has analysed since 2022, African countries face rejection rates as high as 50 per cent.

For the UK, the numbers are equally exploitative and extortionate: In 2024, rejected visas for African passport holders cost nearly $68.8 million, bringing the total revenue generated by the UK and the EU to at least $136 million.

Although data doesn't exist on African losses due to rejected US visa-application fees in 2024, official government records show high rejection rates, with Liberians experiencing as much as a 79 per cent rejection rate for B visas that cost $185 per application. These fees are also non-refundable.

Sources

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/05/21/travel/africans-europe-schengen-denied-visas-applications

https://www.semafor.com/article/05/26/2025/rejected-visa-application-to-europe-cost-africa-68m

https://independentnews.co.sz/14534/news/africans-lose-millions-to-visa-denials-in-2024

https://www.chr.up.ac.za/dce-opinion-pieces/3808-op-ed-bridging-the-gap-towards-a-fairer-schengen-visa-process-for-african-applicants

https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20240716104622512

https://theconversation.com/africans-who-apply-for-schengen-visas-face-high-rejection-rates-migration-scholar-explains-why-232286

https://www.henleyglobal.com/publications/africa-wealth-report-2024/comparing-visa-rejection-rate-africans-versus-world

https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/policies/schengen/visa-policy/short-stay-visas-issued-schengen-countries_en

https://travel.state.gov/content/dam/visas/Statistics/Non-Immigrant-Statistics/RefusalRates/FY24.pdf

https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/policies/schengen-area

https://ke.usembassy.gov/worldwide-nonimmigrant-visa-fee-increases