Ghana's Mahama asks UK for formal slavery apology and return of artefacts

Ghana's President John Dramani Mahama has called on the United Kingdom to formally apologise for its role in the transatlantic slave trade and to return African cultural artefacts taken during slavery and colonial rule.

Mahama set out the demands in a statement on Sunday, released by his spokesperson, Felix Kwakye Ofosu. He was responding to British Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who has said the UK is willing to hold structured talks with countries affected by the slave trade and to listen to calls for a formal apology.

Burnham, writing in The Guardian, described the slave trade as a "brutal and barbaric violation" and expressed sorrow for the suffering it caused. But he ruled out financial reparations, arguing that people living today should not be held responsible for wrongs committed in a different era.

What Mahama is asking for

Mahama, who serves as the African Union Champion on Reparations and chairs the Global Advisory Panel on Reparatory Justice, said an apology alone would not settle the matter. He listed five areas for the proposed talks, which would bring together Ghana, the African Union, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the African diaspora and countries that took part in the slave trade.

• A formal apology.
• Joint efforts to dismantle systemic racism and Afrophobia.
• Investment in education, healthcare, science, youth empowerment and climate resilience.
• The return of stolen cultural heritage.
• Development partnerships to tackle structural poverty and unfair global debt arrangements.

He said the discussions should draw on the Accra Next Steps Commitments, CARICOM's Ten Point Plan and African Union declarations on reparatory justice.

Mahama said he received the UK position with "cautious optimism and appreciation". He called it a watershed moment, noting that the UK abstained in March when the United Nations adopted a Ghana-led resolution describing the transatlantic slave trade and racialised enslavement of Africans as the gravest crime against humanity.

"We have waited too long for this day; let our generation of leaders be remembered for our courage to confront the past honestly," Mahama said.

He pointed to Ghana's slave castles and forts at Cape Coast, Elmina and Christiansborg, where Africans were held before being shipped across the Atlantic through what is known as the Door of No Return.

Mahama also praised Burnham and UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband for what he called their moral leadership, and said Ghana was ready to work with the UK, African countries, CARICOM and the wider diaspora.

What happens next

Burnham has proposed working with wealthy nations and investors on debt relief and debt restructuring for vulnerable Commonwealth countries, with former Prime Minister Gordon Brown helping with the effort. He made the remarks ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Antigua and Barbuda, which coincided with a tour of the region by King Charles III.

Mahama acknowledged that countries may disagree on reparations but urged them not to let those differences block the talks.