Berlin ghosts echo unfinished Africa's decolonisation

Residents queue to collect water from a water point in Bukavu on February 21, 2025. Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi is on a quest for support as war in the east rages, but has so far returned empty-handed from trips abroad while anxiety mounts at home. [AFP]

February 26 marks 140 years since the Berlin Conference of 1884-1885, where European powers convened to partition Africa among themselves.

No African voices were present, nor was any consideration to the continent's diverse peoples and histories. The borders drawn in Berlin continue to shape Africa's political and socio-economic realities today. The Berlin conference formalised the scramble for Africa, which was already well underway. The participating powers sought not only to maximise their territorial claims but also avoid conflict among themselves. In 1870, 10 per cent of Africa was under European control; by 1914, that figure had soared to 90 per cent. The only nominally ethical gesture was formal abolition of slavery, yet in practice, colonial rule was imposed through violence and coercion. Missionaries served as the vanguard of expansion, using religion, modernity, and progress as justifications to weaken resistance.