Omanghana
President John Dramani Mahama has called on African countries to create a legally recognized right of return for descendants of people displaced by the transatlantic slave trade.
Addressing a special joint sitting of Jamaica’s Parliament during his state visit to Kingston, President Mahama said Africans in the diaspora must be given clear opportunities to return, reside and acquire citizenship on the continent.
He rejected the suggestion that accepting members of the diaspora should be regarded as a charitable or humanitarian gesture, describing repatriation as a matter of historical and fundamental justice.
“Repatriation is not an act of kindness. Repatriation is a right of all persons of African descent to return to the mother continent and settle or reside if they wish,” he told lawmakers.
The president said he would make the establishment of a continent-wide right of return one of his priorities when Ghana assumes the rotating chairmanship of the African Union in 2027.
Ghana has been endorsed by ECOWAS to represent West Africa in the African Union’s leadership, while President Mahama was elected the union’s first vice-chairperson for 2026.
His proposal would require individual African countries to revise their immigration, residency and citizenship laws. Although the African Union can develop a common policy framework, national governments would still be responsible for passing and implementing the necessary legislation.
President Mahama presented Ghana’s experience as a possible model for other countries. Ghana’s Citizenship Act, 2000—Act 591—already provides a right-of-abode framework for persons of African descent in the diaspora, subject to statutory requirements and government approval.
The country is also developing a Homeland Return Bill intended to simplify and strengthen the legal processes through which qualified members of the global African family can secure permanent residency or citizenship.
The proposed legislation is expected to move Ghana’s diaspora policy beyond symbolic invitations by establishing clearer administrative procedures for people who want to relocate, invest, work or settle permanently in the country.
Successive Ghanaian governments have promoted the country as a home for the African diaspora through initiatives including the 2019 Year of Return and the continuing Beyond the Return program. Hundreds of diaspora residents have also received Ghanaian citizenship through special ceremonies.
However, applicants have frequently raised concerns about costs, lengthy processing periods and uncertainty surrounding citizenship and residency requirements. The Homeland Return Bill is expected to address some of these administrative obstacles while formally defining the rights and responsibilities of returnees.
President Mahama’s declaration was welcomed by sections of Jamaica’s academic, reparations and Rastafari communities, for whom repatriation to Africa has remained a longstanding cultural and spiritual objective.
The address also reinforced cooperation between Ghana and Caribbean countries on reparatory justice. Jamaica has pledged to work with Ghana, the Caribbean Community and other African nations to address the continuing consequences of slavery and colonialism.
For President Mahama, the proposed right of return represents an effort to transform historical solidarity into enforceable policy, giving people of African descent a recognized legal pathway to reconnect with the continent from which their ancestors were forcibly removed.
Source: Omanghana
