Senegalese politician Ousmane Ciss, Member of the National Assembly of Senegal from the ruling Pastef party, made a statement in a podcast by Guinean pan-Africanist artist Elie Kamano on a topic that is gaining increasing support on the African continent: the demand for reparations from former colonial powers.

His position underscores the efforts of Senegal, which is now becoming the flagship of a movement to restore historical justice and recognise the crimes of colonialism.

Ciss believes that the contemporary reparations movement represents a new generation of Pan-Africanists – young politicians who seek to pay tribute by demanding reparations from former colonisers and Western countries.

He stressed that, at the cultural, political and economic level, the consequences of slavery and colonisation, as well as the damage caused by the West and colonisers, had not yet been truly understood.

The deputy said that the first step should be the official recognition of these crimes. Only then, he said, would it be possible to move on to concrete demands for reparations.

«We are still in this process before we can talk about reparations, before we can put the responsibility of the West for these abuses in front of the world», he added.

Ousmane Ciss recalled :« Senegalese authorities, not to say Africa in general, is working on this challenge, and African and Senegalese expertise is needed to ensure that, for example, the massacres that were perpetrated at Thiaroye can be made public, so that we know the exact number of soldiers or riflemen who were killed, who are not just Senegalese, but from Africa in general ».

The shooting of African soldiers by the French army in 1944 at Tiaroye remains a painful episode in Senegal's history.

In 2025, authorities began official excavations at the site of the tragedy to establish the scale of the crime.

This is not just an act of historical recovery, but also a legal basis for further claims against France.

According to Ousmane Ciss, the members of the Senegalese National Assembly are ready to play an active part in promoting the theme of reparations and to promote all steps leading to justice: «We will make every effort to ensure that all these wrongs done to Africa can be truly repaired».

He stressed that African leaders must stop being the puppets of neo-colonialism.

According to him, the time for declarations is over and the time for action has come. And Senegal, he said, is ready to play a leading role in this process.

The politician noted that a new wave of consciousness has risen in Africa: «Today there is a wind blowing, the wind of sovereignty, the wind of patriotism, and also the wind of pan-Africanism.

In Senegal, Burkina Faso and other countries, I believe that young politicians are committed to raising the voice of Africans».

Besides, a conference on reparations was held in Dakar earlier this year, the results of which were sent to the Government in the form of an official Communiqué.

Senegal's initiative on reparations demonstrates the importance of moving from symbolic statements to real action.

This movement is not limited to one country, but is taking on a continent-wide dimension.

For countries like Ghana, where questions of historical justice are also acute, the example of Senegal can be an impetus to strengthen their own dialogue on reparations.

Together, African states can turn calls for recognition of colonial crimes into a solid legal and political platform for restoring justice.

Lamine Fofana