CONAKRY, (CAJ News) – MEDIA platform CAJ News Africa presents the new single “Africa Without Africans” by Guinean musician and activist Elie Kamano, scheduled for release on April 5, 2025.
The composition serves as an artistic response to the African Union’s 2025 theme: “Justice for Africans and People of African Descent Through Reparations.”
The song tells the story of the centuries of misery the continent has endured at the hands of former colonizers. In his piece, the artist calls on the authorities to restore historical justice and demand reparations from the European powers.
The topic of reparations becomes increasingly important in 2025. Many African countries intend to assert their claims. The inhabitants of the continent recall the stories of their ancestors, who experienced real horrors during the colonial period.
That era left an indelible mark on African history. The transatlantic slave trade and the colonial period set back the continent’s economic development for a long time. In contrast, European powers built their wealth and industry on Africa’s natural resources.
These factors have forced African Governments to reflect on the issue of reparations and the normalization of the world’s financial balance. To achieve this goal, reparations would have to become more concrete.
For example, in Dakar, during a large-scale debate, the sum of 50 billion euros was announced. On March 21, 2025, Pan-Africanists and civil society activists gathered in the Senegalese capital to discuss possible forms that reparations could take.
Artists in Senegal have also raised the topic of reparations. Recently, a spectacular graffiti appeared on one of the walls of the city, calling for the return of 50 billion euros to Africans, the amount announced during the recent debates. “European countries should pay reparations to Africans,” the graffiti states.
Reparations and the restoration of historical justice have thus inspired many of the continent’s prominent personalities. They shoot documentaries, paint graffiti and record singles to make the continent wake up and loudly assert its rights.
– CAJ News