KKD: World Must Pay for 400 Years of Slavery — ‘Apology Alone Is Not Enough’

Ghana’s Special Envoy to the Caribbean Region, Kwasi Kyei Darkwah, popularly known as KKD, has strongly backed calls for reparations for Africans and people of African descent, describing the transatlantic slave trade as the “gravest crime against humanity” that must be acknowledged with restitution.

Speaking in an interview with TV3 Network Limited following Ghana’s 69th Independence Day address by President John Dramani Mahama, KKD emphasised that beyond apologies, there must be concrete action to address the historic injustice inflicted on Africans during centuries of slavery.

According to him, true closure for the injustices of the past can only come when those responsible recognise the harm done and take steps to make amends.

“If somebody steals from you and apologises, you can forgive them. If somebody steps on your shoe and apologises, you can forgive them,” he said. “But when you think about the great flood of tears that we have cried over more than 400 years for our brothers and sisters who died, we must now wash away our tears and turn back the tide.”

KKD argued that nations and institutions that benefited from slavery must acknowledge the wrongs committed against Africans and their descendants.

“We must ask those who harmed our great-grandfathers and great-grandmothers, those who took away their dignity and used them for labour without pay to build economies elsewhere while ours were destroyed, to recognise that a wrong was done and apologise,” he stated.

He added that the conversation must move beyond apology to include restitution and reparations.

“Closure only comes when you apologise and do right by the person you harmed,” he said.

KKD also urged Africans not to remain passive in the global debate on reparations but to actively demand justice through international platforms and legal channels.

“We must not sit back as though we are still enslaved and wait for somebody to do us a favour. We must demand it in every court of the land,” he stressed.

He welcomed plans by President Mahama to present the issue before the United Nations on March 25, where the Ghanaian leader is expected to push for global recognition of the transatlantic slave trade as the gravest crime against humanity.

KKD further called on historians, academics, teachers, filmmakers and media practitioners to intensify efforts to educate the world about the impact of slavery on Africa and its diaspora.

“When our historians, academia, teachers, students, filmmakers and media practitioners publish documentaries and tell the truth about what happened, the whole world will be sensitised,” he said.

Drawing parallels with other historic injustices that have received international recognition and restitution, KKD maintained that the suffering endured by Africans during slavery warrants similar global acknowledgement and compensation.

“For the battery, the rape, the theft, the forced labour without pay, and for being treated worse than animals, every descendant of Africa affected by the slave trade deserves reparations,” he said.

He concluded by urging influential individuals within communities to lead conversations that will deepen awareness and strengthen the global call for justice.

“In every family and every field of endeavour, there is someone who stands out in thought leadership. That person must take the responsibility to explain this issue so that everyone understands the harm done to our people,” KKD added.

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