Nairobi is preparing to host a historic gathering that aims to reshape how Africa talks about justice and reparations.
On October 22 and 23, the WAKATI WETU: It’s Our Time – To Resist, Repair and Reclaim festival will bring together hundreds of participants from artists and musicians to policymakers, philanthropists, activists and educators at Entim Sidai Wellness Sanctuary.
The two-day event is the first reparations festival ever held in Africa. It comes as the African Union (AU) pushes for a global conversation on reparations, having declared 2025 the Year of Justice for Africans and People of African Descent, and designated 2026–2036 as the Decade of Reparations.
Unlike traditional conferences, Wakati Wetu promises to take the reparations debate out of official spaces and into the public sphere.
The organisers say the festival will tackle topics such as climate and economic justice, legacies of the slave trade and colonialism, and how these issues continue to shape African lives today.
Dr Liliane Umubyeyi, Co-Founder of the African Futures Lab (AFaLab), one of the five organisations behind the festival, said the goal is to bring the subject of reparatory justice closer to ordinary Africans.
“Climate change, debt crisis, forced migration and deepening socio-economic inequalities are not disconnected phenomena,” she said.
Adding;
“They are contemporary expressions of a global system of racial domination that remains structurally intact.”
Organisers say many people across the continent still see reparations as a distant, abstract idea.
They hope that by using art, culture and storytelling, the festival will build public understanding and mobilise a broader movement.
The AU’s focus on reparations follows decades of calls by African leaders to reform global systems and structures that continue to disadvantage Africans and people of African descent.
Organisers of Wakati Wetu see the Nairobi festival as the beginning of a long campaign.
“This year’s event is just the opener. The campaign for justice, healing and accountability will continue until it is resolved. We call on all Africans and people of African descent who are interested in the total liberation and genuine development of Africa to join us as we chart a path for a continent free from racial and colonial entrapments,” Umubyeyi stated.
Mr William Carew, Head of Secretariat of the AU’s Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC), said the festival is an important step in making Africans part of their own liberation journey.
“The Wakati Wetu festival is unprecedented for many reasons,” he said.
Adding
“It provides a platform for interaction among policymakers, civil society groups, cultural actors and ordinary people. It reflects the AU’s determination to bring ordinary Africans along our collective journey to achieve the Africa we want.”
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