Siphiwe Baleka Presentation on Reparations & the Vatican at the II Seminário Internacional Pró Reparações in Brazil

November 13, Belo Horizonte, Brazil - Siphiwe Baleka made a profound presentation at the II Seminário Internacional Pró Reparações being held in Belo Horizonte, Brazil from November 10th to the 14th. Once again, Siphiwe Baleka called attention to the fact that 100 million Afrodescendants in Brazil still don’t know their maternal and paternal ancestry in Africa which is evidence of continuing state-sanctioned ethnocide. Mr. Baleka insisted that African Ancestry DNA testing is the remedy or repair for this and that the Vatican is responsible for providing this remedy to all Afrodescednats who want it since it was Pope Nicholas the V who authoriezed the King of Portugal to use his Military Order of Jesus Christ headquartered in Tomar, Portugal to “invade, fight, conquer, subjugate. . . and reduce to perpetual servitude” the people living in Guine (Africa). The Catholic Church then issued “Asiento” monopoly war contracts authorizing other nations to invade and split the profits of the slave trade 50/50 with the Catholic Church.

LISTEN TO SIPHIWE BALEKA’S FULL PRESENTATION

Siphiwe Baleka also submitted a proposal to Establish a Lusophone African Reparations Commission modeled on the Caribbean Reparations Commission.

Afrodescendants of Sierra Leonean Origin Petition Julius Maada Bio for recognition of their Right to Return - Join Afrodescendants of Guinea Bissau, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire and Burkina Faso Origin

November 12, Freetown - Sixteen Afrodescendants of Mende origin, four Afrodescendants of Temne origin, one descendant of both Mende and Temne origin, and one Afrodescendant of Fula and Kono origin submitted a Petition to the  President of the Republic of Sierra Leone, Head of State, His Excellency Julius Maada Bio to Launch a Decade of Return Initiative and Provide Citizenship to the Descendants of the People of Sierra Leonean Origin and Afrodescendants Who were taken from their Ancestral Homeland and Enslaved in the Americas. The petition was delivered through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The petition follows a letter concenring the Urgent Clarification on the Postponement of the Citizenship Program and Its Broader Implications submitted on behalf of the Tour Operators Association of Sierra Leone by its President by Alieya Kargbo. According to Kargbo,

“I am writing on behalf of the Tour Operators Association of Sierra Leone to express our growing concern regarding the continued postponement of the African American Homecoming and Citizenship Program. While we respect the Ministry’s authority and understand the challenges of organizing such an important initiative, the lack of clear communication or explanation has placed both tour operators and the communities we serve in a difficult position. . . . It is important to note that more than 40 individuals traveled to Sierra Leone last December under this program, many of whom made deep emotional and financial commitments to their ancestral homeland. Of that number, approximately 15 are scheduled to return in December, having already purchased airline tickets, reserved hotels, and prepared to receive their Sierra Leonean passports as promised. The absence of clear guidance or confirmation regarding the status of their citizenship has left both the visitors and our tour operators confused and embarrassed. This situation risks significant financial losses and potential reputational damage to the country. . . . Furthermore, prolonged silence provides room for speculation and misinformation. Media outlets are already monitoring this issue and may use it to discredit Sierra Leone’s image and question the sincerity of our leadership. Negative narratives could easily frame this as a failure to honor the very descendants of those who were taken from this soil, undermining both our national reputation and the President’s credibility on the world stage.”

The situation in Sierra Leone described by Kargbo is reminiscent to the situation that recently occured in Burkina Faso. On January 18, 2025  the African Diaspora Development Institute (ADDI) founded by Her Excellency Dr. Arikana Chihombori Quao stated on their website and in email communications that “The government of Burkina Faso has asked ADDI to spearhead a citizenship initiative that invites African Diaspora to apply to be citizens of Burkina Faso” and that President Traore put an executive order in place in which “There will be two Tiers of applications. Tier I=All those who have traced their lineage to Burkina Faso through their DNA. Tier II=Any black Diaspora. The government of Burkina Faso has indicated that the ceremony conferring citizenship will happen in June 2025”. This was postponed, however. Another announcement on July 14 stated, "The government of  Burkina Faso has confirmed that our ADDI mission trip to include the conferment of Burkina Faso citizenship will take place from October 26th to November 8th, 2025.” However, on September 1, Burkina Faso’s Transitional Legislative Assembly passed Law No.012-2025/Alt setting forth the legal baseline for nationality in Burkina Faso. The legislation did not recognize Afrodescendants of Burkinabe origin as a unique class of immigrants with a Right of Return under international law, and specifically, the Geneva Convention. Rather than granting citizenship as was promised, the Parliaments’ new law leaves it as an unaddressed and unanswered question of legal obligation. This caused an uproar among many of the 1,200 people that paid and registered for the ADDI trip under the expectation of getting the promised citizenship. Some felt betrayed and/or scammed by both ADDI and Burkina Faso. Burkan Faso pivoted and offered permanent residence instead. This, too was announced on the ADDI website.

Amazingly, no ceremony conferring permanent residence took place in Ougadougou and the 700 Afrodescendants did not receive any permenent resdence cards or documentation! Rather, they were required to complete paperwork and President Traore gave assurances that permanent residency would be granted. When asked how he felt about this, one delegate responded, “There would have been a riot if the audience with the President didn’t happen.”

The situation in Burkina Faso and now Sierra Leone highlights the need for emphasizing the legal obligations, in addition to the spiritual, moral and economic case, for reparations which includes the Afrodescendants’ Right of Return.

This is what has prompted those effected to seek help with making their Right to Return claim and has led to petitions being presented in Guinea Bissau, Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire and now Sierra Leone. The Gambia, too, is heading in this direction. All should follow Benin which became the first African country to specifically adopt a law offering people of African descent the opportunity to acquire nationality “by recognition”. Law 2024-31 on the recognition of Benin Nationality for people of African descent states that “any person aged eighteen (18) or over who, according to their genealogy, has a sub-Saharan African ancestor who was deported from the African continent as part of the slave trade and the triangular trade” is eligible. The cost is $100 and citizenship is granted after just three months from the date of notification of receipt of a completed file

The petition to Sierra Leone President Bio, however, was accompanied by a letter asking him to answer the following questions:

  1. Does Sierra Leone recognize the petitioners as Afrodescendants of Sierra Leonean origin as determined by their African Ancestry results (kit #’s provided)?

  2. Do you consider the Dum Diversas Apostolic Edict issued by Pope Nicholas V on June 18, 1452, to be a declaration of total war against Sierra Leonean people with no statute of limitations?

  3. Do you consider the people of Sierra Leonean Origin captured from their homelands, trafficked and enslaved in the Americas to be “prisoners of war” as defined by the Geneva Convention? 

  4. Do you consider the direct descendants of the Sierra Leonean prisoners of war to retain that status until “their final release and repatriation” as stated in the Geneva Convention?

  5. Do you agree with the decision in United States v The Libelants and Claimants of the Schooner Amistad (1841) that the people of Sierra Leonean Origin captured and enslaved in the Americas as prisoners of war “neither intended to abandon the land or their nativity nor had lost all hope of recovering it” and thus their former domicile “is not abandoned by residence in another” since “that residence was not voluntarily chosen”?

  6. As a signatory to the Geneva Convention, does Sierra Leone have an obligation to repatriate and provide citizenship to all Afrodescendants of Sierra Leonean Origin who voluntarily desire it?

  7. Is Sierra Leone prepared to engage the responsible Detaining Powers under the Geneva Convention for their obligation to repatriate the Afrodescendants of Sierra Leonean Origin?

  8. When should the petitioners expect to be granted their Sierra Leone passports?

“This is an excellent opportunity for President Bio to show leadership during the African Union’s Year/Decade of Justice for Africans and People of African Descent Through Reparations,” said Siphiwe Baleka who serves as Coordinator of the New Afrikan Diplomatic and Civil Service Corps and drafted the petition.

“President Bio could give Africa’s first advisory opinion on the fundamental legal questions that are to be presented to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). This is especially fitting since the United States v The Libelants and Claimants of the Schooner Amistad (1841) court case concerning the justice due to Mende prisoners of war, along with the Geneva Convention, provides the legal basis for Afrodescendants’ right to return to their ancestral homelands.” - Siphiwe Baleka

“I Want My Gambian Passport In My Hands” – Afrodescendants Revive Citizenship Campaign in Gambia

Nyancho Kujabi, originally named Juliet Ryan, founder of BlaXit – a platform aimed at facilitating the repatriation of African descendants – expressing concern over the government’s hesitation to address their citizenship matters.

“Siphiwe Baleka, a dual citizen of the United States and Guinea-Bissau and a prominent advocate for the repatriation of Afro-descendants, told The Fatu Network that The Gambia could do more to grant citizenship to descendants who wish to return. He remarked that Africa must heal and recognise the descendants as citizens of the continent whose ancestors were forcibly enslaved. Mr. Baleka, who participated in the recently concluded 85th Extraordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights in Banjul in October, praised the African Union for designating 2025 as the Year of Justice for Africans and their descendants through reparations, which include both reparations and citizenship. However, he noted that the AU has not provided concrete solutions for African descendants, emphasising the need for a comprehensive citizenship programme for Afro-descendants.”

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE

GUINEA BISSAU GRANTS CITIZENSHIP TO EIGHT MORE AFRODESCENDANTS

October 30, Bissau - The Council of Ministers of the Republic of Guinea Bissau granted citizenship to eight more Afrodescendants: six Balanta descendants - Anginette Richelle Browder, Arshaad Kiongozi Ujuzi Rahh, Raul Jose Garcia, Robin Delephine Adele Rue, Keith Byron Otuomagi, and Maurice Banda - and two Fula descendants - Marcus Bourn and Matthew Christopher Brown.

The decision from the Council of Ministers follows the intervention of the President of the Balanta B’urassa History and Genealogy Society in America, Mr. Siphiwe Baleka who, on October 14th, urged the Council of Ministers to approve the citizenships. Then, on October 28th at the 85th Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR), Mr. Baleka called attention to Guinea Bissau’s efforts to recognize the Right of Return of Afrodescendants of Guinean origin.

“It is a miracle that people who have suffered six or more generations of ethnocide are now being welcomed to their ancestral homeland as FULL brothers and sisters, as CITIZENS,” said Mr. Baleka. “This is the true spirit of reparations, and those countries which are fulfilling their obligations will be blessed by the Almighty Creator.”

- BBHAGSIA President Siphiwe Baleka

Siphiwe Baleka and Sânebickté Juliana Yala Nhanca Wedding Ceremony at São Francisco de Assis de Antula, Guinea Bissau

Saturday, October 18, Bissau - After a traditional “cabaz” wedding ceremony at the moment of a total lunar eclipse on September 7, 2025 and a civil wedding ceremony October 10 on the 172nd Anniversary of the Emancipation and Marriage of Jack and Cherry Blake on October 10, 1853, Siphiwe Baleka and Sânebickté Juliana Yala Nhanca completed a trinity of wedding ceremonies at the church of São Francisco de Assis de Antula, Guinea Bissau.

Afrodescendants Right of Return Champion Urges Republic of Guinea Bissau Council of Ministers to Approve Twenty-Nine More Citizenships

Bissau, October 14 - The President of the Balanta B’urassa History and Genealogy Society in America (BBHAGSIA) Mr. Siphiwe Baleka today delivered letters to Prime Minister Braima CAMARA, President of the Council of Ministers & Parliamentary Relations Malal SANE and Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation, & Communities Carlos Pinto PEREIRA urging the Council of Ministers to speedily approve of the nine (9) naturalization applications it has received already through BBHAGSIA’s Decade of Return program and twenty (20) more that are being delieverd to the Conservator at the Ministry of Justice which is the second step of the process. This follows after Mr Baleka, serving as Special Envoy to Burkina Faso, also delivered a Petition to the  President of Faso, Head of State, His Excellency Captain Ibrahim Traoré to Launch a Decade of Return Initiative and Provide Citizenship to the Descendants of the People of Burkinabe Origin and Afrodescendants Who were taken from their Ancestral Homeland and Enslaved in the Americas.

ENGLISH TRANSLATION

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COUNCIL OF MINISTERS SPEEDY APPROVAL OF THE NINE AFRODESCENDANT NATURALIZATION APPLICATIONS

Your Excellencies,

As President of the Balanta B’urassa History & Genealogy Society in America (BBHAGSIA) and creator of the Decade of Return Initiative that was launched on February 23, 2021 in partnership with the Secretary of Tourism of Guinea Bissau, I write to encourage the Council to speedily approve the nine Afrodescendent naturalization applications which you have received from the Conservator of Criminal Records at the Ministry of Justice. These are: Maurice Banda, Marcus Bourn, Anginette Browder, Matthew Brown, Raul Garcia, Keith Otuomagie, Andre Queen, Arsahe Rahh and Robin Rue.

I take this time to thank you for the citizenships already granted on January 16, 2025 and February 6, 2025 bringing the total number granted to twenty-one, including my own which was the first to be granted. This has earned a Letter of Commendation from the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (see attached). I will be sure to inform Hon. Dr. Litha Musyimi-Ogana, Chairperson of the Working Group on Indigenous Populations/Communities and Minorities in Africa as soon as they are approved, which of course will continue to earn much praise. It should be noted that there are an additional twenty more applications that will soon be submitted to the Conservador. It is our hope that all of them can be approved before the end of the year so as to give them plenty of time to prepare to attend our big Balanta cultural festival in February in conjunction with next year’s carnival and obtain their much valued Guinea Bissau passport, as several of the previous group did on May 16 and June 11, 2025.

In closing, it is a very propitious moment for Guinea Bissau to attract the attention of Afrodescendants. On the one hand, Benin has launched its acclaimed program for Recognition of Beninese nationality for Afro-descendants. On the other hand, Burkina Faso has suffered a great loss of support when it issued its Code of Persons and Family in Burkina Faso (Law No. 012-2025 ALT on CPF) that failed to recognize the Afrodescendants’ Right to Return and grant citizenship for the approximately 1,200 people that were encouraged to apply.

By granting these nine and twenty citizenships now and at the end of the year, the Republic of Guinea Bissau will demonstrate that just as it was a leader at the beginning of the African Union’s 2025 Year of Justice for Africans and People of African Descent Through Reparations, it is still the leader at the start of the African Union’s Decade of Reparations 2026- 2036.

Most respectfully,

Siphiwe Baleka, 

Founder, Balanta B'urassa History & Genealogy Society in America (BBHAGSIA)

Coordinator, Decade of Return Initiative in Guinea Bissau

cc:

President Umaro Sissoco EMBALO;  Min. of Agriculture & Rural Development Queta BALDE;  Min. of Commerce Orlando Mendes VIEGAS; Min. of Culture, Youth & Sports Alfredo MALU; Min. of Economy, Planning, & Regional Integration Soares SAMBU; Min. of Energy Fidelis FORBES; Min. of Environment, Biodiversity, & Climate Action Viriato SOARES CASSAMA; Min. of Finance Ilidio Vieira TE; Min. of Fishing & Maritime Economy Abel da Silva GOMES; Min. of Industry, Processing, & Promotion of Local Products Florentino Fernando DIAS; Min. of the Interior & Public Order Botche CONDE; Min. of Justice & Human Rights Maria do Ceu SILVA MONTEIRO; Min. of National Defense Dionisio CABI; Min. of National Education, Higher Education, and Scientific Research Queba DJAITE; Min. of Natural Resources Malam SAMBU; Min. of Public Administration, Employment, Vocational Training, & Social Security Monica Buaro DA COSTA; Min. of Public Health Augusto GOMES; Min. of Public Works, Housing & Urban Development Jose Carlos ESTEVES; Min. of Social Communication Maria da Conceicao EVORA; Min. of Territorial Administration & Local Government Aristides Ocante DA SILVA; Min. of Tourism & Handicrafts Secuna BALDE; Min. of Transport Marciano Silva BARBEIRO; Min. of Telecommunications & Digital Economy Julio Mamadu BALDE; Min. of Veterans' Affairs Aly HIJAZY; Min. of Women, Family Affairs, & Social Solidarity Maria Inacia Co Mendes SANHA; Ambassador to the US Maria Da Conceicao NOBRE CABRAL; Permanent Representative to the UN, New York Samba SANE

BBHAGSIA President Siphiwe Baleka and Decade of Return Coordinator Daiana Taborda Gomes with Guine Bissau Minister of Foreign Affairs H.E. Carlos Pinto Pereira, during a meeting in December 2023 discussing the details of the proposed citizenship ceremony.

Friday, May 16, 2025 Bissau - Four Afro Descendants of Guinean origin, Balanta descendant Fabian Anthony, and three sisters and Fula descendants, Joyce, Shirley and Rosemary Goodson, received their Guinean passports from the Director of Immigration, Lino Leal da Silva at the Office of Immigration in Bissau, Guinea Bissau.

From left to right, Claudio Altip, Assistant Coordinator, Decade of Return program; Siphiwe Baleka, President of the Balanta B’urassa History and Genealogy Society in America (BBHAGSIA) and Coordinator of the Decade of Retrun program; Titna “Joshua Roberts”; and Coronel Lino Leal Da Silva, Diretor Geral, da Migrcao e Fronteira e Ministerio do Interior

Afrodescendants of Burkinabé Origin Petition President Ibrahim Traoré For Citizenship Under Their Right of Return

Friday, October 10, Ouagadougou - Twelve descendants of Bissa and one descendant of Mossi prisoners taken during the Dum Diversas War have signed a Petition to the  President of Faso, Head of State, His Excellency Captain Ibrahim Traoré to Launch a Decade of Return Initiative and Provide Citizenship to the Descendants of the People of Burkinabe Origin and Afrodescendants Who were taken from their Ancestral Homeland and Enslaved in the Americas. The petition to President Traoré was delivered through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Burkinabé Abroad in Ouagadougou yesterday by the Afrodescendant Special Envoy to Burkina Faso, Mr. Siphiwe Baleka.

In support of the Right of Return of the Afrodescendants of Burkinabé origin, the petition cites the landmark United States v The Libelants and Claimants of the Schooner Amistad (1841) case, the Geneva Convention (1949), the working paper on desirable results of the 6th Pan African Congress held in 1974, the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights adopted in 1981, the World Conference Against Racism and its Durban Declaration and Program of Action (2001), the African Union’s Constitution Article 3(q), the Declaration of the Global African Diaspora Summit in South Africa in 2012, the AU 50th Anniversary Solemn Declaration of May 2013, the Resolution on Africa’s Reparations Agenda and The Human Rights of Africans In the Diaspora and People of African Descent Worldwide (ACHPR/Res.543 (LXXIII) 2022), and Articles 5, 36, 101, 107 and 151 of the Constitution of Burkina Faso.

“The African Union declared 2025 as the ‘Year of Justice for Africans and People of African Descent Through Reparations’ and have extended it to a decade from 2026 to 2036,” said Mr. Baleka. “I have been campaigning at the highest levels for Afrodescendant citizenship to be the first reparations priority. The petition is designed to assist the Parliament of Burkina Faso and the inter-ministerial Citizenship Committee which recently postponed the granting of citizenship that was promised to occur during the African Diaspora Development Institute (ADDI) Business Summit from October 26 to November 8. We hope that President Traoré will cause Burkina Faso to join Ghana, Sierra Leone, Guinea Bissa and Benin in leading the way for justice for the victims of the criminal Trans-Atlantic chattel enslavement of African people. It is the legal obligation of the Burkinabé government to its own Burkinabé people still living in the land of their captivity.”

Read the English version of the letter to President Ibrahim Traoré and the full petition below

A follow-up nnouncement on January 18, 2025  from the African Diaspora Development Institute (ADDI) states “The government of Burkina Faso has asked ADDI to spearhead a citizenship initiative that invites African Diaspora to apply to be citizens of Burkina Faso” and that President Traore put an executive order in place in which “There will be two Tiers of applications. Tier I=All those who have traced their lineage to Burkina Faso through their DNA. Tier II=Any black Diaspora. The government of Burkina Faso has indicated that the ceremony conferring citizenship will happen in June 2025”. Another announcement on July 14 after the Friends of President Ibrahim Traore in the West (FPITW) delegation’s debriefing following their successful mission to Burkina Faso, the ADDI announced, "The government of  Burkina Faso has confirmed that our ADDI mission trip to include the conferment of Burkina Faso citizenship will take place from October 26th to November 8th, 2025.”

The Republic of Guinea Bissau to Conduct Civil Marriage Ceremony on the 172nd Anniversary of the Emancipation and First Free Marriage of the Baleka Family in America

October 1, Bissau - The Ministry of Justice confirmed today that the Republic of Guinea Bissau will conduct the civil marriage ceremony of Siphiwe Baleka and Sânebickté Juliana Yala Nhanca on October 10, 2025 at 1:00 p.m. at the Ministry of Justice. This ceremony takes place on the 172nd Anniversary of the Emancipation and Marriage of Jack and Cherry Blake on October 10, 1853. Jack Blake is the Great, Great, Great, Great Balanta Grandfather of Siphiwe Baleka and the first of that family to be free in America.

“Jack Blake was born into slavery in 1789. His father was taken from the Balanta village of Untche and enslaved in the Americas in 1760. Jack was the first to be born into slavery and the first to get emancipated and become free. The first thing he did with that freedom was to mary the love of his life, a woman named Cherry. It is amazing that one hudred and seventy-two years later, on the exact day, the Republic of Guinea Bissau will conduct the civil ceremony for my marriage to the woman I love,” said Mr. Baleka.

Baleka sees this as an important milestone for the Decade of Return initiative that he created and launched with the Ministry of Tourism back in 2021. The original goal was to help the Balanta people in the United States reconnect with their Balanta culture, history and language. That initiative has since expanded and more than fifty people of Guinean origin have return to visit their ancestral homeland and twenty of them have received their citizenship.

According to Mr. Baleka, this will be the first civil marriage on record between a Balanta Afrodescendente and a native Balanta of Guinea Bissau and thus marks an important milestone in Balanta and Guinea Bissau history. Said Baleka, 

“We have triumphed over the crime of enslavement, ethnocide, and colonialism. African people everywhere are one people with a shared history. Our marriage on this day will serve as a symbol connecting the Balanta histories on both sides of the Atlantic and as a living testimony of Marcus Garvey’s ‘back to Africa’ vision."  

It should be noted that at the start of the 21st century, Balanta emerged on the world scene. In 2000, Kumba Yalá was elected and inaugurated as President of the Republic of Guinea Bissau, becoming the most important and famous Balanta in the history of that country. Meanwhile, in 2003, by the will of God and the appointment by the Rastafari people in Shashemane, Ethiopia, Siphiwe Baleka, known as “Ras Nathaniel” at the time, became the representative of the 250 million Afrodescendents at the African Union when it approved the article 3(q) amendment inviting and encouraging the “full participation” of the African Diaspora in the building of the African Union. Since then Mr. Baleka has become their chief advocate in international forums for their Right to Return. The Yala-Baleka union is therefore a union of two prominent Balanta families.

All people of goodwill in Bissau are invited to attend and witness this historic civil marriage ceremony on October 10 at 1:00 p.m. at the Ministry of Justice.