"the ECOSOCC process appears as the major unifying factor we have been looking for"

- Dr. Tajudeen Abdul Raheem, General-Secretary of the Pan African Movement, Kampala (Uganda) and Co-Director of Justice Africa, April 7, 2005

“This will be a test to see if the Diaspora can work together in one accord to achieve a specific measurable outcome”

-Siphiwe Baleka, after CONSULTATIVE MEETING HELD WITH CHAIR OF WORKING GROUP ON INDIGENOUS POPULATIONS AND MINORITIES IN AFRICA that launched the African Diaspora Assembly Provisional 6th Region Elections, October 22, 2024

(Note: For those who just want to know what happened with the meeting with AU ECOSOCC in Addis Ababa, scroll down to the section, WHAT HAPPENED AT THE AU ECOSOCC PRE-SUMMIT EVENTS LEADING UP TO THE 38TH ORDINARY SESSION OF THE ASSEMBLY OF THE AFRICAN UNION?)

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Dear Friends and Enemies alike. . . . In the spirit of Ubuntu, I greet you all. I have come to understand that the fundamental structure of the Universe is the Unity of Opposites - Heaven and Earth, light and dark, high and low, inhale and exhale, the heart’s expansion and contraction, mother and father - from which I, and all of you, come. By the same token, there must be friends and enemies. However, the unifying principles of Pan Africanism, of Ubuntu, allows me to see that as African people, we are still on the same team even when it doesn’t appear to be so. Sitting on the plane on my way to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia for the 38th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Governments of the African Union, twenty-one (21) years after I attended the 1st Extra-Ordinary Summit of the Assembly of the African Union in Addis Ababa on February 3-4, 2003, it occured to me that I should, again, document my thoughts concerning my 6th Region Crusade. I choose this word specifically, since it means “a vigorous campaign for political, social, or religious change”.

I wish to give something of an intimate portrait of my experience as a unique figure in this moment. . . .

Am I a unique figure with something significant to say? Here I wish to begin by sharing an awareness of my calling which compels me to speak now. In the Anu Spiritual System of my ancestors, also called the Egyptian Mysteries, the Initiate had to, among other things, show Evidence of having a mission in life and show Evidence of a call to spiritual Orders or the Priesthood in the Mysteries: the combination of which was equivalent to Prudence or a deep insight and graveness that befitted the faculty of Seership (defined as a person who sees or observes; a person who prophesies future events.). Consider now this discription of Seership:

“a man [Mosiah] that can translate the records; for he has wherewith that he can look, and translate all records that are of ancient date; and it is a gift from God.” The instruments of translation, which Ammon called “interpreters,” could only be used when divinely commissioned. “Whosoever is commanded to look in them,” Ammon taught, “the same is called seer” (Mosiah 8:13).

With this information in mind, Limhi reasoned that “a seer is greater than a prophet” (Mosiah 8:15). Ammon concurred, and explained,

A seer is a revelator and a prophet also; and a gift which is greater can no man have, except he should possess the power of God, which no man can; yet a man may have great power given him from God. But a seer can know of things which are past, and also of things which are to come, and by them shall all things be revealed, or, rather, shall secret things be made manifest, and hidden things shall come to light, and things which are not known shall be made known by them, and also things shall be made known by them which otherwise could not be known. (Mosiah 8:16–17)

Ammon drew a distinction between prophethood and seership. A prophet, a spokesperson for God, can with divine authority foretell what would, could, or should occur if people behave in certain ways (such as promised blessings for keeping the commandments or promised woes for falling into apostate behavior).1 While each dispensation has great Prophets (capital P) who stand at the head of God’s covenant people or God’s church with priesthood keys, individuals, both men and women, can act as prophets or prophetesses (lowercase P) in their respective lives, families, and ecclesiastical roles (cf. Exodus 15:20; Numbers 11:29; Judges 4:4; Isaiah 8:3; 2 Kings 22:14; Luke 2:36; Acts 11:27; 21:10; Revelation 19:10).

A seer, however, is more than a prophet who pronounces divine judgment or foretells the future. A seer is one who “through faith, might work mighty miracles” by the use of “means” (divine instruments) prepared by God (Mosiah 8:18).2 As Ammon explained, seership is greater than prophethood because a seer unlocks what happened in the past, including mysteries, secrets, obscured teachings, lost scripture, and hidden knowledge. As Limhi acknowledged, the instruments of seership are “doubtless prepared for the purpose of unfolding all such mysteries to the children of men” (Mosiah 8:19). In this way, a seer goes beyond the gifts granted to prophets and is therefore “greater” both regarding power and responsibility.”

Is there evidence that I have a mission in life or a call to spiritual orders or the priesthood in the Mysteries?

Let’s consider and then I will proceed to my report on the events regarding the AU ECOSOCC at the 38th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union.

Anyone who wishes to look at the evidence need only go to my website and especially the News and History pages for a complete record and especially read the following:

Meanwhile, my book, From Yale to Rastafari: Letters to My Mom, 1995-1998 documents the start of the mission and call to a spiritual journey, and the five volumes (1,200 pages) of Come Out of Her, My People! 21st Century Black Prophetic Faith and Pan African Diplomacy documents the first five years of that mission from 2002 to 2007. Central to that mission was attending the 1st Extra-Ordinary Summit of the Assembly of the African Union in Addis Ababa and becoming the FOUNDER OF THE AFRICAN UNION 6TH REGION CAMPAIGN.

If a SEER is one who “can translate the records; for he has wherewith that he can look, and translate all records that are of ancient date” and “unlocks what happened in the past, including mysteries, secrets, obscured teachings, lost scripture, and hidden knowledge”, then regarding the African Union 6th Region and Diaspora Initiative, there is clear evidence of documenting and translating “the records” and one should carefully consider The AU 6th Region Diaspora Initiative Is Failing Members of The Diaspora Whose Ancestors Were Enslaved in the United States and The African Union and the African Diaspora - Tracking the AU 6th Region Initiative and the Right to Return Citizenship: A Resource for the 8th Pan African Congress Part 1 in Harare, Zimbabwe.

Finally, it should be noted and understood that it is the Garveyites and the UNIA, RasTafarites, the Ethiopian World Federation (EWF), the Malcomites and the Republic of New Afrika (RNA) out of which came the National Coalition of Black for Reparations in America (NCOBRA) which have the oldest legacy concerning Repatriation, Reparations, Pan Africanism, and working with the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and its successor, the African Union (AU). I have histories and/or mandates from all of them. When I arreived at the African Union the first time in 2003, I was specifically sent by the Rastafari community that had repatriated to the Shashemane Land Grant after having been mentored by Malcom X’s last and greatest student of his political philosophy, Dr. Y.N. Kly (author of THE BLACK BOOK: The True Political Philosophy Of Malcolm X and many others.) as well as Shaka Barak, founder and President of the Marcus Garvey Institute, Former UNIA 3rd Assistant President General and Minister of Education, and one of the last students of General Charles L James of Gary, Indiana who was the first Valedictorian of Marcus Garvey’s Course on African Philosophy which I had completed. I then went as an African Diaspora representative to the 9th Ordinary Session of the African Union “Grand Debate on the Union Government” which resolved that “the ultimate objective of the African Union is the United States of Africa with a Union Government as envisaged by the founding fathers of the Organization of African Unity and, in particular, the visionary leader, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana” and “the importance of involving the African peoples, including Africans in the Diaspora in the processes leading to the formation of the Union Government.” THAT project was taken up by the Pan African Federalist Movement (PAFM) that initiated the Call for the First Pan African Federalist Congress on Thursday February 26, 2015 by Senegalese Pan Africanists, most of whom were companions of Cheikh Anta Diop, Abdoulaye Wade or Leopold Sedar Senghor who were pioneers in the effort to create a viable state of Africans, by Africans and for Africans. The massive response to this call led to the Convening of the Pre-First Pan African Federalist Congress which was held in Accra Ghana, from December 8 to the 13, 2018. This Pre-Congress was attended by more than six hundred Pan Africanists coming from more than 50 countries around the World. I now serve as the President of the International Preparatory Committee of the PAFM Communications Commission.

Thus, when I returned to the African Union twenty-one (21) years later as the Coordinator of the African Diaspora Assembly Provisional 6th Region Elections, I did so as the Head of Communications for the PAFM and as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Provisional Government of the Republic of New Afrika (PGRNA) having already applied to renew the PGRNA’s Observer Status to the African Union and sent briefs advising the African Union’s Legal Reference Group on Reparations. I had served as the Coordinator for the 8th Pan African Congress Part I called by H.E. Arikana Chihombori Quao and was currently serving on NCOBRA’s International Affairs Commission which had invited AU Officials to discuss the AU 2025 Theme of the Year, “Justice for Africans and People of African Descent Through Reparations.” I came with official endorsements from the UNIA, from the Ethiopian World Federation (EWF), the Pan African Council, the Global African Congress UK, and the African Diaspora Union (AFRIDU). These are among the Friends I am addressing. Now it is time to turn to the Enemies.

“In every significant event in history you will find a courageous and determined leader, an inspiring goal or objective, and an adversary who sought to spoil his efforts.”

- -Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie I

So let’s get down to the heart of the matter. At the CONSULTATIVE MEETING HELD WITH CHAIR OF WORKING GROUP ON INDIGENOUS POPULATIONS AND MINORITIES IN AFRICA at the 81st Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, I was advised to

“Hold a truly representative gathering of the African Diaspora, hash it out amongst yourself, and come to the Roundtable with your 20 representatives. Following that, bring a resolution to a 9th PAC to be held in 2025. With the Commission and 9th PAC authority, it will then be brought to the AU Summit.”

It was an impossible task to do in two to three months what the African Diaspora had failed to do in twenty years since the African Union Constitutional Article 3(q) Amendment that officially, “invite(s) and encourage(s) the full participation of Africans in the Diaspora in the building of the African Union in its capacity as an important part of our Continent” and the AU ECOSOCC Statute Article 5 Section 3 instructed ‘"African Diaspora organizations shall establish an appropriate process for determining modalities for elections and elect twenty (20) CSO's to the ECOSOCC General Assembly".

Indeed, many people complained, “What’s the rush? Why must we do this right now?” I tried to explain that 1) a twenty-year effort could hardly be called a ‘rush’; and 2) circumstances dictated the timeline. The ACHPR Resolution 616 afforded us a fast-track opportunity that did not exist before. The short time actually would serve as a catalyst to quickly “hash it our amongst ourselves” and overcome our petty differences and just get to the task at hand of choosing 20 representatives. The way I saw it, Tajudeen was correct, "the ECOSOCC process appears as the major unifying factor we have been looking for" .

And so, on Thursday, November 14th, fifty-five (55) individuals representing the leadership of civil society organisations in the nine sub-regions of the African Union 6th Region attended a Town Hall Zoom Meeting and agreed on a process to elect twenty representatives to the African Union’s Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC). At the 1:00.30 mark of the Town Hall recording, we were warned about “gatekeepers”…. The original Regional Coordinators at that time were,

Brazil: Abemi Ade Sinaimo - Coordinator Natl. Network of Black Women Fight Against Violence

United States: Coordinator: Moriel McClerklin - AFRIDU

Europe: Coordinator: Keturah Amoaka -SOAD

Canada: Coordinator: Janette Lumley - SOAD

Asia & Oceana:Coordinator: TBA

Middle East: Coordinator: Khazriel Ben Yehuda -African Diaspora in Dimona, Israel

South America: Coordinator: TBA

Central America: Coordinator: Roy Guevara Arzu - Honduras MFPA-AL-CH & AFROAMERIXXI

Caribbean: TBA.

Eventually, Princess Eulogia Gordon was added as Deputy Coordinator and then Coordinator for Central America. Phillip Spinger was added as the Coordinator for the Caribbean, Dr Megan-EzeNwanyi was added as the Coordinator for South America and Prince Justin Tanyi was added as the Coordinator for Asia & Oceania. Thus, major groups such as SOAD, AFRIDU and ADDI along with endorsers UNIA and EWF were coming together to lead the campaign. Each Region started a WhatsApp group and the campaign started growing rapidly. This was due in no small part to the effort of the SOAD Vice Prime Minister and the ADDI CEO. Within two weeks there were several hundred people in the WhatsApp Groups. This success prompted me, as the International Coordinator for the Campaign, to write a letter to AU ECOSOCC and inform them of the process. Their response was not, “Hey, this is great. Looks like ya’ll finally doin it and gettin it together. Keep up the good work while we try to get the legal framework approved at the next session of the AU so that whoever you elect can, if they meet the eligibiity requirements, get inaugurated and seated in the ECOSOCC 4th General Assembly as it starts its work!!!!” NO, that was NOT the response we received. Rather, I received a Cease and Desist Letter. From that moment on, Bureaucrats and Gatekeepers Attempted to Sabotage the African Diaspora 6th Region Elections. Very quickly three of the Regional Coordinators - from AFRIDU and SOAD - withdrew from the campaign and had to be replaced. Then, just like Marcus Garvey, who was sabotaged through the “Garvey Must Go!” movement by some prominent members of his own race who were on the same “team” that resuted in BOGUS legal charges, I too was now the subject of a “Siphiwe Must Go!” campaign.

On November 24, the Caribbean Regional Coordinator for the Caribbean posted a flyer for a Caribbean Town Hall Meeting, to which David Comissiong, the Barbados Ambassador to CARICOM commented, “Really? Surely this is some type of sick comedy show ?” He then led an effort to try and discredit the elections. Following the dismissal of Phillip Springer as the Caribbean Regional Coordinator, Mr. Springer then started parroting Ambassador Comissiong’s position that the campaign had no mandate from the AU ECOSOCC after ardently telling people that it didn’t matter, that we, the diaspora, needed to organize ourselves anyway! This propelled Mr. Springer to intensify his efforts in building a Caribbean and Indigenous Sovereigns Network, which began to take precedence over his duties to the African Diaspora Assembly Provisional 6th Region Elections. Mr. Springer then started a whisper campaign that scared people, claiming that association with the campaign could cause them to be black-balled by the African Union, or worse, subject to legal actions. One by one, people started dropping out of the campaign, reversing the Ubuntu unity that had been built and was growing. Mr Springer was calling nominated candidates and Regional Coordinators and convincing them that the elections campaign was “illegal” and would result in “legal actions.”. In a phone conversation, Naoh Cacique Akyka Baaruco, who was a popular candidate for election in the Caribbean region, confessed to me that Mr. Springer warned him that if he didn’t withdraw from the elections, his various business interests in Africa, facilitated by ADDI, would risk being discontinued.

Marcia Weeks reported the same thing a day or two before I appeared on her show in Barbados. She told me that Mr. Springer called her and warned her about promoting me on her show and that it was dangerous to be spreading misinformation. One by one, my most trusted Regional Coordinators turned on me overnight. Without calling or discussing with me anything, each of them started saying and posting messages and letters with the same thing: “I received a call from some ‘higher authority”. . . . The elections are illegal and fraudulent” and scaring people with the threat of legal actions. This lead to their dismissal.

Others complained that there was no “transparency” even though everything was documented, posted online, and repeatedly published in the WhatsApp group, including ALL the communications between the campaign and AU ECOSOCC. It’s a bit foolish to think that some of these Regional Coordinators who had been serving for a month or longer only heard and saw in Janauary the cease and desist letter from late November. Having created a ton of chaos and confusion immediately before the election, Dr. Krindikel Truthbey brought the “Siphiwe Must Go!” campaign to a climax following the elections when she posted a 32-page bogus document that had the look and feel of some kind of “legal” charge against me, signed and sealed, . . . .

WE CAN NOW EVALUATE THE BEHAVIOR AND ACTIONS OF THOSE PEOPLE WHO WENT AROUND THREATENEING PEOPLE AND SCARING PEOPLE THAT THE AU WAS GOING TO TAKE LEGAL ACTION AGAINST SIPHIWE BALEKA AND THE AFRICAN DIASPORA ASSEMBLY PROVISIONAL 6TH REGION ELECTIONS. YOU KNOW THE TREE BY THE FRUIT IT BEARS.

WHAT HAPPENED AT THE AU ECOSOCC PRE-SUMMIT EVENTS LEADING UP TO THE 38TH ORDINARY SESSION OF THE ASSEMBLY OF THE AFRICAN UNION?

Rather than being served, summoned or arrested, I was actually warmly received as a guest of ECOSOCC. So much for the threatened legal action!!!!. The first AU ECOSOCC event took place on February 10th.

During the event, I said this:

Following the session, I was able to meet with several officials of AU ECOSOCC, including the new Presiding Officer. the Head of Programmes, the Head of the Secretariat and the Legal Officer. It was during this meeting when we reached a real understanding of each other. I explained that the cease and desist letter had the effect of destroying the growing Ubuntu unity that was rapidly growing and could have united the African Diaspora. I also sensitized them to the need to meet with the entire 6th Region and provide some guidance. They, in turn and in confidentiality, explained to me what was behind the cease and desist letter (which was written by the legal officer and only signed by the Head of Secretariat) and what the real issues were that caused the Executive Council to recommend further consultations rather than bring it to a vote in the AU General Assembly. An appreciation for each other was developed and there was none of the animosity or threatened legal action that was recklessly promoted by the Siphiwe Must Go! agents. Out of this came the decision, accepted by all, for AU ECOSOCC to host a “Town Hall Meeting”, using the language of the African Diaspora Assembly Provisional 6th Region Elections campaign.

38th AU Summit 4 ECOSCC Siphiwe with Presiding Officer and Head of Programs.jpg

38th AU Summit 4 ECOSCC Siphiwe with Head of Secretariat and Legal Officer.jpg

38th AU Summit 4 ECOSCC Siphiwe with Head of Secretariat and Legal Officer2.jpg

The next day, elected 6th Region Representative Cecile Johnson and I attended the Ampifyng Voices and Building Alliances For Reparatory Justice event, hosted by several civil society organizations and AU ECOSOCC whose officials were in attendance.

38th AU Summit 9 Amplifying Voices Flyer.jpg

After Cecile and I made further interventions, to strengthen our new relationship with AU ECOSOCC, we were invited to attend the the Continental Strategy Meeting centered on the theme of the Year, “Justice for Africans and People of African Descent Through Reparations” held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel on February 12.

During the first breakout session, I was able to work with Makmid Kamara of Reform Initiatives - the very Makmid Kamara I wrote about in my expose on the philanthropic elite caputre of the reparations movement. Makmid received me warmly and we were able to work together throughoutt the session and remainder of the week. Also in that session was Allan Ngari of Human Rights Watch, Ebrima Sall of TrustAfrica and Tadesse Simie Metekia of the Institute of Security Studies. That group affirmed the Dum Diversas War reparations narrative that I presented.

At lunch I was able to continue working with Makmid and Allan, and was later joined by Brian Kagoro of the Open Society Foundation. After lunch, I sat down with the AU ECOSOCC Desk Officer and together, we made good on the AU ECOSOCC Head of Secretariat’s promise to hold a Town Hall Meeting and we set the date for March 15 at 15:00 UTC.

From: Gowtam Raj Chintaram (Dr.) <Chin@africa-union.org>
Date: Wed, Feb 12, 2025 at 11:37 AM
Subject: Townhall on ECOSOCC Diaspora Legal Framework - 15 MARCH 2025
To: balantasociety@gmail.com <balantasociety@gmail.com>
Cc: William Carew , Kyeretwie Osei , Bright Sefah , Lagizaber Bekele, Carol Jilombo
Dear Mr Baleka
Following our meeting and referring to Mr Carew’s announcement for the hosting of a townhall session to shed light on the Diaspora Legal Framework and after the consultations held with your team on the proposed date/time that would be most suitable for our main constituents ; we are pleased to share the link for the townhall session scheduled for Saturday 15th March 2025 ( 1500 UTC) as below
https://zoom.us/j/91579182632?pwd=Fhc0xWdQIjDzeobLyIlPqkmZ0VMGPQ.1
We will work on official flyers/posters for the announcement to be put on our various social media platforms as from next week.
Kind regards
Raj

During the second breakout sessions, Representative Cecile Johnson served as the rapporteur for the Segment II Working Group on Actions and Collaborative Strategies Group C: Education and I provided leadership for Group B: Legal and Political Advocacy. Out of this came an agreement from Group B, which included the Pan African Lawyers Union (PALU) and the African Jurists and Judges Forum (AJJF) and other stakeholders, to make the ACHPR Roundtable scheduled for May a main focal point of our coordinated efforts. I then established the ACHPR Resolution 616 Coordination Group and serve as the administrator for its WhatsApp group.

Representative Cecile Johnson and I made a visit to the Shashemane Land Grant and attended other events, but our mission to meet with AU ECOSOCC was is now fulfilled and we proved the naysayers without proper understanding of what it takes to accomplish goals, build relationships & bridge unity - wrong! Instead, they proceeded with a “Siphiwe Must Go!” sabotage campaign, which failed. Our trip was bigger than US ALL, and rather than be persecuted by AU ECOSOCC, the relationship grew stronger! I am happy to announce that on March 15, 2025, the long awaited meeting between AU ECOSOCC and the entire African Diaspora 6th Region will take place as a result of my crusade.

I will close with the words of my good Comrade who put it this way:

“I don't like that the ECOSOCC Secretariat didn't answer Bro. Siphiwe's question about what was the intention of the ECOSOCC Statutes, Articles 5(3), & cut Siphiwe off because of Siphiwe's sharp,precise, biting & powerful analysis that exposed the marginalization of the African Diaspora at ECOSOCC
I further commend Bro. Siphiwe for highlighting & excellently pointing out that the entire ECOSOCC Conversation(Process) is not/ cannot be legitimate & credible until the African Diaspora 20 Representatives are actually seated!!!✊🏿✊🏿👏🏿👏🏿
My Comrade & Brother Siphiwe never cease to amaze me with his brilliant & powerful intellect & ability to succinctly articulate our key points of contention. He excellently & powerfully addresses a most complex matter & fully captures & highlight it's most essential points in less than 4 1/2 minutes flat. That we "kicking down the door" part seems to be where the ECOSOCC Secretariat realized he was being bum-rushed,that Siphiwe was making him look bad, & he decided he couldn't take any more.
Instead of answering Siphiwe's question of the intention behind the ECOSOCC Statutes 5(3) African Diaspora inclusion, the Secretariat deflected by hurriedly moving to the next speaker & merely commenting he understood the point & hope there will be a process that unpacked it with the level of depth it requires.
While I too hope the contemplated ECOSOCC Town Halls & other processes of consultation & cooperation with the African Diaspora Provisional Assembly gives the required level of depth & discussion, the Secretariat declined Siphiwe's request to then & there quickly discuss his intentions,.... & I personally don't see any reason why he couldn't say a few things about his intentions before moving to the next speaker. But nevertheless, I hope the Secretariat sincere about wanting to fully unpack this matter & cooperate with the African Diaspora to develop a proper 6th Region Framework & have our Representative seated on the ECOSOCC Assembly immediately.
The 6th Region must amplify & powerfully reaffirm what Bro Siphiwe has pointed out, must be loud , vocal & clear to the AU & ECOSOCC officials, that the entire ECOSOCC process / conversation is NOT truly credible or legitimate, until the African Diaspora 20 Reps are Seated!!! ✊🏿✊🏿✊🏿
Free The Land!
Black Power!
Bro. Jami Luqman, Chairman,
Republic of New Afrika Grassroots Mobilization”