The Paramount Chief of the Manyoro Traditional Area, Pe Professor Pwakweah Atudiwe Atupare Nanchi III, has issued a resounding call for Africans and people of African descent to take full ownership of the global discourse on African emancipation and the transatlantic slave trade.
Delivering a powerful address as co-chair of the 3rd edition of the Panafest and Emancipation Day celebration at the historic Pikworo Slave Camp in Paga, Pe Pwakweah condemned slavery as “a peculiar case of exemplified greed and shamefulness.”
This year’s celebration, themed “Let Us Speak of Reparative Justice – Pan African Artistic Activism,” drew thousands from across Africa and the diaspora. The event honored the resilience of African ancestors and reignited conversations on justice, remembrance, and cultural reclamation.
“Why are we not telling our story?” Pe Pwakweah challenged. “Why is the history of this event being told from the perspective of the protagonists of the trade? Why are our communities silent?”
He urged African societies to move beyond silence and begin a conscious process of reclaiming and narrating their own history—not to reopen old wounds, but to promote healing and dignity through truth.
“We may forgive, but we will not forget this despicable experience… The happiness of today will not provide closure to the anguish of the slave trade. But we must be careful not to let ourselves down twice.”
Pe Pwakweah further criticized the marginalization of African voices in dominant historical narratives, describing it as a “continued injustice” and a “denial of narrative plurality.” He called on African leaders—both traditional and elected—to prioritize the collective well-being of their people over personal ambition.
The commemoration was organized by the Ghana Tourism Authority in collaboration with the Upper East Regional Coordinating Council, the Regional House of Chiefs, and the Paga Youth Movement. It featured vibrant cultural performances, traditional cuisine, crafts exhibitions, and speeches echoing Pan-African resilience and unity.
The Pikworo Slave Camp, a solemn site that once served as a slave transit point, provided an emotional and historical backdrop for the ceremony, anchoring the message of remembrance and reparative justice in place and memory.
