2025 PANAFEST: Honouring Ancestral Struggles, Amplifying Calls for Reparative Justice

The historic Pikworo Slave Camp in Paga, Upper East Region, reverberated with the voices of ancestral remembrance and Pan-African solidarity as it hosted the 2025 edition of PANAFEST and Emancipation Day celebrations from July 18 to 19.

The theme for this year’s commemoration was “Let Us Speak of Reparative Justice – Pan-African Artistic Activism,” underscoring the importance of healing, unity, and a collective call for reparations for Africa’s past injustices.

The event, held at the very site where the horrors of the transatlantic slave trade began in Northern Ghana, drew hundreds of participants including chiefs, politicians, students, clergy, diasporans, cultural performers, and members of the public.

Echoes from the Past

The Pikworo Slave Camp, established in the early 1700s, served as a key transit center where captured people from across the Sahel and Northern Ghana were assembled, held, and sold before being marched in chains for over 500 kilometers to the coastal dungeons of Cape Coast and Elmina. Carved feeding bowls in rocks, punishment sites, and auction points at the camp remain haunting relics of the atrocities committed during the slave trade.

It was within this solemn context that this year’s PANAFEST began with a commemorative walk from Navrongo to Paga, symbolizing the historical journey of pain and endurance. Participants, many dressed in white for the ancestral vigil, paid tribute through cultural performances and traditional rites.

Cultural Resilience and Reparative Dialogue

The program featured performances by cultural troupes, drama by students, and exhibitions of traditional art, music, and food. The grand durbar was marked by a procession, speeches, and a wreath-laying ceremony at the slave cemetery. A symbolic re-embarkation rite reenacted the forced departure of captives—a powerful reminder of the enduring scars of slavery and colonial exploitation.

Addressing the gathering, Professor Bishop Albert Luguterah, co-chaired by Pe Professor Peter Atudiwe Atupare Manchii III, emphasized the importance of celebrating African resilience:

“This event reminds us to reflect on the pain, strength, and hope of our ancestors—men and women who endured a tragic journey in chains across vast lands. Their courage and sacrifice must inspire a renewed commitment to preserving our heritage and pushing for justice.”

Upper East Regional Director of the Ghana Tourism Authority, Mr. Wisdom Adhazi, used the platform to call on the government to prioritize investment in the Pikworo Slave Camp.

“We urgently appeal for the construction of a fence wall to protect the site’s unique natural and historical assets. We also need basic infrastructure to reshape this important heritage site into a world-class tourism and educational destination,” he urged.

Upper East Regional Minister, Hon. Donatus Akamugri Atanga, encouraged all stakeholders to transform the solemn momentum into progressive action:

“Let us use this moment to support creative industries, promote cultural education in our schools, and foster partnerships with the African Diaspora for mutual growth, trade, and investment.”

A Call for Reparative Justice

At the heart of the celebration was a loud and unified call for reparative justice—a recognition that the damage caused by centuries of slavery and colonialism requires not only acknowledgement but also active redress.

Participants were reminded that healing must be pursued through truth, justice, and partnerships, particularly with the African diaspora, to collectively rebuild and reinvest in Africa’s social and economic fabric.

A Living Memory and a National Asset

The two-day celebration was as festive as it was reflective, featuring exhibitions, local food vendors, traditional wares, dramatic reenactments, and a tour of the site’s historical landmarks. The Nania Women’s Group led the final procession to the slave burial grounds, performing spiritual rites to honor the dead and to symbolically reconnect the past with the present.

As PANAFEST 2025 drew to a close, it left behind more than a trail of cultural performances and commemorative speeches—it reignited a national and continental conversation about justice, heritage preservation, and the enduring spirit of African identity. The Pikworo Slave Camp, once a place of pain, now stands as a site of purpose, pushing Ghana’s northern tourism frontier into the spotlight of global heritage awareness.