KEY POINTS
- Mahama wants a formal U.K. apology and the return of stolen artifacts.
- He set out five areas to guide talks, including debt and racism.
- Britain is open to an apology but rules out financial reparations.
Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama has called on Britain to formally apologize for its role in the transatlantic slave trade and return African artifacts taken during slavery and colonial rule, saying a slavery apology alone would not be enough.
Mahama set out the demands in a statement Sunday, The Whistler reported. His statement came after British Prime Minister Andy Burnham signaled openness to a formal apology and structured talks with countries affected by the slave trade.
Mahama, the African Union’s champion on reparations, welcomed Burnham’s stance. However, he said an apology could not, on its own, repair the lasting damage of slavery and colonialism.
Five demands beyond a slavery apology
Instead, he outlined five areas to guide talks among Ghana, the AU, the Caribbean Community, or CARICOM, the African diaspora and countries that took part in the trade.
They include a formal apology and joint efforts to dismantle systemic racism and Afrophobia. He also called for investment in education, health care and youth empowerment, the return of stolen cultural heritage, and development partnerships to tackle structural poverty and inequality in the global economy.
Mahama said the talks should also address unfair global debt arrangements that continue to hold back developing countries.
He called Britain’s willingness to consider an apology a significant step, especially after the U.N. adopted a Ghana-led resolution in March recognizing the transatlantic slave trade as the gravest crime against humanity. Britain abstained in that vote.
Although acknowledgment cannot reverse the suffering of millions of Africans, Mahama said, it would mark a break from historical denial and open a path to healing. He also urged that the talks proceed in good faith, since countries may hold different views on reparations.
Britain rules out paying reparations
Still, Burnham has drawn a firm line. While he said Britain would listen to calls for an apology, he ruled out financial reparations, arguing that people alive today should not be held liable for historical wrongs.
Meanwhile, Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch rejected reparations outright. In a post on X, she said Britain had already expressed regret and that another apology would achieve little. She also asked why descendants of African kingdoms and merchants who took part in the trade were not facing similar demands.
Mahama, however, said Ghana remains ready to work with Britain, African nations, CARICOM and the diaspora toward reconciliation, restitution and repairing slavery’s lasting effects.
