By Princess Eugene Majuru
Zimbabwe’s Chief Fortune Charumbira, as President of the Pan-African Parliament, carries a historic responsibility that extends far beyond ceremonial leadership. His tenure comes at a moment when Africa must confront an uncomfortable truth: political independence was achieved, but decolonisation was never completed. Across the continent, colonial structures, titles, symbols, laws, and mindsets remain deeply embedded in African governance systems. Nowhere is this more visible—and more damaging—than in the treatment of Africa’s traditional leaders.
From Kings to “Chiefs”: A Colonial Downgrading of Authority
Before colonisation, African rulers were kings and queens—sovereign custodians of land, law, culture, spirituality, and diplomacy. Colonialism deliberately dismantled this system. Kings were stripped of their titles and reduced to “chiefs,” a generic colonial label designed to neutralise authority.
This was not accidental. It was strategic.
By reducing kings to chiefs, colonisers turned powerful institutions into weak administrative tools—bulldogs without teeth. Authority was hollowed out, dignity removed, and legitimacy transferred to colonial administrators.
The tragedy is that, decades after independence, Africa continues to accept this imposed identity.
Colonial Regalia: Symbols of Humiliation Still in Use
Equally disturbing is the continued use of colonial regalia by traditional leaders across Africa. These gowns and headpieces were not designed to reflect African royalty; they were crafted to ridicule it. Across the world, royalty is unmistakable. Kings and queens wear regalia that radiates power, continuity, and dignity. Yet African kings—descendants of ancient civilisations—are still paraded in garments that symbolise subjugation.
This is not tradition. It is colonial residue.
The Pan-African Parliament must urgently address the removal and permanent retirement of colonial regalia and support the creation of authentic African royal regalia that reflects indigenous aesthetics, symbolism, and authority.
The Broader Crisis: Names, Symbols, and Memory
The problem extends far beyond traditional leadership.
Across Africa:
Schools still bear the names of colonisers;
Universities, buildings, cities, airports, and streets celebrate colonial figures;
Tourist attractions glorify colonial narratives;
African heroes, queens, kings, and resistors remain marginalised. At the same time, African children are educated through curricula that prioritise European history while treating African history as an afterthought.
This is not neutral education. It is epistemic colonisation.
True decolonisation requires the reclaiming of memory, the rewriting of narratives, and the centring of African history, philosophy, governance systems, and cultural institutions in education systems across the continent.
Law Reform Is Not Optional—It Is Urgent
Colonial logic is also embedded in Africa’s legal frameworks. Many constitutions, Traditional Leaders Acts, and governance laws continue to limit traditional authority, reduce kings to ceremonial figures, and subordinate indigenous systems to imported models.
These laws require urgent, continent-wide review and amendment.
The Pan-African Parliament is uniquely positioned to:
Champion harmonised reforms on traditional leadership;
Push for constitutional recognition with real authority;
Advocate for the restoration of indigenous titles such as Mambo, Kgosi, Kabaka, Oba, and others;
Encourage member states to dismantle colonial legal frameworks that undermine African institutions.
The Role of the Pan-African Parliament
The Pan-African Parliament cannot remain a debating chamber disconnected from lived African realities. It must become an engine of transformation.
Africa needs:
Clear policy frameworks on cultural decolonisation;
Measurable timelines and outcomes;
Accountability mechanisms for member states;
Visible, irreversible change.
Symbolic resolutions without implementation will no longer suffice. Africans are watching. The time for rhetoric has passed; the time for results has arrived.
A Continental Call to Action
Chief Fortune Charumbira’s leadership presents an opportunity to move from discussion to action. Africa must accelerate decolonisation in all its forms—symbolic, cultural, legal, educational, and psychological. Africans cannot continue to accept ridicule as normality. We cannot claim sovereignty while dressing our kings in colonial shame. We cannot speak of unity while teaching our children to revere those who conquered and erased us.
Decolonisation is unfinished business.
The Pan-African Parliament must rise to the moment and lead Africa into a future that honours its past, restores its institutions, and reclaims its dignity.
The world knows how a king and a queen should look.
Africa must now remember who it is.
King
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