Nairobi, October 2 – Hundreds of people, including artists, musicians, policymakers, philanthropists, activists, and cultural educators, are expected to gather at the Entim Sidai Wellness Sanctuary on October 22-23 for the groundbreaking Wakati Wetu festival. The event, themed “It’s Our Time – To Resist, Repair, and Reclaim,” aims to spark meaningful discussions and strategies on issues ranging from climate justice to economic justice, historical injustices, and contemporary legacies of the slave trade and colonialism.

As the first festival of its kind in Africa, Wakati Wetu coincides with the African Union’s theme of the year, which calls for justice for Africans and people of African descent through reparations. The festival seeks to draw significant public attention to the issue of reparations, with a series of sessions curated to unpack limited public knowledge and interest in reparations in Africa.

Dr. Liliane Umubyeyi, Co-Founder of the African Futures Lab, one of the conveners of the festival, emphasized the importance of approaching reparatory justice from an intersectional lens. “Climate change, debt crisis, forced migration, and deepening socio-economic inequalities are not disconnected phenomena; they are contemporary expressions of a global system of racial domination that remains structurally intact,” she said.

Mr. William Carew, Head of Secretariat of the African Union ECOSOCC, echoed these sentiments, highlighting the festival’s role in providing a platform for multisectoral interaction among policymakers, civil society groups, cultural actors, and ordinary people.

The festival aligns with the African Union’s declaration of 2025 as the Year of Justice for Africans and people of African descent, with a focus on reparations. This declaration was followed by the AU’s decision to extend the theme to a Decade of Reparations, spanning from 2026 to 2036.

As Dr. Umubyeyi added, “This year’s event is just the opener. The campaign for justice, healing, and accountability will continue until it is resolved. We are therefore calling on all Africans and people of African descent who are interested in the total liberation and genuine development of Africa, to join us at Entim Sidai, as we chart a path for a continent that is free from racial and colonial entrapments.”