Africa-Press – Gambia. On April 24, 2025, Dr Jimmy Hendry Nzally, a visiting researcher at the University of Antwerp, delivered a guest lecture on Decolonising Gambia`s Colonial Heritage: A Palimpsest”. This guest arrived salient and timely, considering the ongoing public debates on the need to revive the Roots Homecoming Festival, the growing calls for protecting the vanishing architecture of Banjul and the need to protect colonial heritage sites like Kunta Kinteh Island.
The debate included the tussle between the Government of The Gambia and the Banjul Area Council over the management of MacCarthy Square. This brings to question post dictatorship Gambia and the different approaches to decolonising Gambia between former president, Yayha Jammeh and current president, Adama Barrow.
The guest lecture was attended by the Dean of Faculty of Design Sciences and as well the Deputy Ambassador to Belgium and EU. In her remarks, the Dean underscores the importance of international research collaborations, and thus welcoming Dr Nzally as the 6 visiting researcher is in line with that vision. From her welcoming remarks too, Professor Sara Eloy, one of the host professors (together with Professor Yonca Erkan), are keen work on research projects including on Decolonising Cocoa Heritage, in which Dr. Nzally will be a member of the advisory board.
Abstract is to be incorporated into the story by the journalists
Colonial heritage occupies a prominent debate in contemporary Africa’s decolonisation discourse. Discussions range from colonial buildings which symbolise a history of oppression, streets named after colonial masters, and statues that impose glorification or gratification, to artefacts taken to Europe during the colonial period. In the Western polity debates on colonial heritage, Africa is often portrayed as lacking history, with the narrative suggesting that its civilisation was a product of colonialism. Africa therefore continues to be impacted by colonialism.
What remains largely absent from these discussions are the hidden stories of Africans who fought against slavery and colonialism. What is missing in the literature are the written and oral histories of the decolonised people and their communities in the context of decolonising colonial heritage.
Using Achille Mbembe framework “On the Postcolony” (2001) exalting on the experiences of the decolonised people, there is an urgent need for discourse on postcolonial understanding of the past to explain the present and help shape a more inclusive future. This discourse must prioritise African perspectives, especially the contemporary perspectives and understanding of postcolonial relations between Europe and Africa. This includes the discourse on colonial heritage, such as monuments in honour of colonial figures, and other colonial buildings. This research is salient and timely to contribute to a broader understanding of African history within the context of decolonisation discourse.
This guest lecture will delve into the salient case study of The Gambia – “Decolonising Gambia’s multicolonial heritage: a palimpsest”. Despite being the smallest country in Mainland Africa, The Gambia, due to its strategic location on the West Coast of Africa is considered the “gateway to West Africa”. The River Gambia was and still is strategic due to its navigability and therefore coveted by European powers. The Gambia has been an important reference point in decolonial discourse. A position that can be traced back to the 1980s and 1990s with the country’s initiation of the Roots Homecoming festival to promote public knowledge about slavery, repatriated slaves, and African American returnees, and promote the rich culture and traditions of the people. This became an important part of Gambian national identity centred on roots and the legacy of the slave trade.
Source: The Standard Newspaper | Gambia
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