Minister of Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has taken a swipe at UK Conservative Party leader, Kemi Badenoch, over her recent comments on slavery reparations.

His remarks come in response to a statement made on X by Badenoch on March 26, 2026, following a resolution on slavery in which the United Kingdom abstained.

In her post, Badenoch questioned the push for reparations, reiterating Britain’s historical role in ending slavery.

UN General Assembly passes landmark reparatory justice resolution

“Russia, China and Iran voted with others to demand trillions in reparations from UK taxpayers… Labour government abstain! Britain led the fight to end slavery. Why didn’t Starmer’s representative vote against this? Ignorance…or cowardice? We shouldn’t be paying for a crime we helped eradicate and still fight today,” Badenoch wrote.

Responding to her comments on March 31, 2026, Ablakwa dismissed Badenoch’s position as inaccurate and not grounded in historical evidence.

According to him, her claims fail to acknowledge well-documented facts about compensation paid during the abolition of slavery, arguing that Badenoch’s view is inconsistent with established history.

“What the conservative leader, Kemi Badenoch has said… that's her opinion and it is clearly not supported by the facts. If you think about the historical facts which cannot be contested the slave masters were compensated in the UK,” he said.

Ablakwa further criticised Badenoch for what he described as selective concern over taxpayers, pointing out that British citizens historically funded compensation to slave owners.

He emphasised that UK taxpayers bore the financial burden of compensating slave masters for their losses.

“She is concerned about taxpayers. She was not [concerned] about taxpayers paying the slave owners who were compensated because slavery was abolished and taxpayers, UK taxpayers have been paying until 2015,” Ablakwa added.

Providing further context, Ablakwa highlighted the scale of compensation paid, arguing that the figures run into billions in today’s value.

He noted that such payments were made to slave owners rather than the victims of slavery.

“The amount of money they paid, £20 million at a time could be estimated at today's value in excess of £2 billion and UK taxpayers have been burdened with that. They've paid the slave masters. Can you believe that? Just for losing the slaves because slavery has been abolished,” he added.

The minister who is also the Member of Parliament for North Tongu expressed concern that descendants of enslaved people have never received compensation, describing Badenoch’s stance as troubling.

He lamented what he termed as a lack of empathy in her comments.

“But the slaves themselves and their descendants were never compensated and she doesn't appear concerned about that? That is really, really unfortunate. Really regrettable and unconscionable, I must say,” he stated.

Ablakwa urged the UK Conservative leader to revisit historical records on the matter.

He emphasised the need for a more informed position on such a sensitive issue.

“And I do hope that she will take a second look at her history notes,” he said.

Background

The United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, March 25, 2026, passed a resolution on reparatory justice, declaring that the transatlantic slave trade was a grave crime against humanity.

This resolution was spearheaded by Ghana's President, John Dramani Mahama, who has been at the forefront of global calls for reparatory justice for African nations and descendants of enslaved Africans.

UN Vote on Ghana's Slavery Motion: Who said no and who abstained

The landmark resolution adopted by the UN saw 123 member states voting in favour, while 3 voted against it, with 53 member states abstaining from voting.

The UK was among 53 other countries that abstained from voting on the resolution.

Russia, China and Iran vote with others to demand trillions in reparations from UK taxpayers…and the Labour government abstain!

Britain led the fight to end slavery.

Why didn’t Starmer’s representative vote against this? Ignorance…or cowardice?

We shouldn’t be paying for a… https://t.co/nWlzBxhb5w

— Kemi Badenoch (@KemiBadenoch) March 26, 2026

@dw.africa Ghana’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has strongly criticised UK Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch after she suggested Britain should have opposed the recent UN resolution on slavery. Ablakwa urged the UK politician to revisit the historical record on slavery, emphasizing the importance of accuracy when discussing such sensitive issues. #DWAfricaSocialMedia #ghana ♬ Minimal for news / news suspense(1169746) - Hiraoka Kotaro