Mancham calls for the re-activation of the ‘Spirit of Harambee’ |15 April 2016

Seychelles founding President Sir James R. Mancham has called upon the Kenyan Nation, the African continent and indeed the whole world to rise up to the ‘Spirit of Harambee’ in order to meet the challenges of tomorrow and create a better world for all.

Sir James was addressing a distinguished audience of Kenyan and African leaders, of diplomats and religious leaders who had turned at the Intercontinental Hotel in Nairobi to take part in a ceremony organised by the United Religions Initiatives (URI-Africa) working in association with Common Purpose International and the World Leadership Alliance-Le Club de Madrid to present to him the Africa Peace Prize 2016 as an integral part of a Forum on African Leadership.

The presentation ceremony was followed by a reception hosted by H.E. Ambassador Joseph Nourrice, the non-resident Ambassador of the Republic of Seychelles to Kenya, on behalf of the government and people of Seychelles.

The Master of Ceremony for the occasion was performed by Rattan K. Channa, Trustee to the Global Council URI-Africa.

The programme kicked off with a video message from Carlos Westendorp, Secretary General of the World Alliance-Le Club de Madrid which is an association of over 70 former Presidents and/or former Prime Ministers of democratic nations of which Sir James has been a member for several years.

Mr Westendorp noted that since becoming a member, Sir James has been one of the most articulated and active members of the Club and that the Club therefore fully endorsed the decision taken for him to be awarded the Africa Peace Award 2016.

“This could indeed mark the beginning of more involvement by Le Club de Madrid on the continent,” concluded Mr Westendorp.

The presentation was followed by a statement by Dr Elsbeth Dixon, chief executive of Common Purpose Africa which has been spearheading cross boundary leadership training.

Dr Dixon expressed her gratefulness to Sir James for accepting to deliver a keynote address on the ‘Importance of leadership in Africa’.

She said that after listening to Sir James’ address in the questions and answers sessions, she now knows why he so fully deserves the Africa Peace Award 2016 and would wish to assure him of the full support and commitment of Common Purpose Africa with respect to the challenges ahead.

Ambassador Nourrice, on taking the floor, said that Sir James had contributed very significantly to the progress of his country Seychelles, through his policy of national reconciliation and has certainly enhanced the international standing of the Republic through his noteworthy participation in several peace-orientated international forums.

The Ambassador further noted that this point of view is fully supported by the congratulatory message that H.E. President James Alix Michel sent when it was announced that Sir James has been awarded the Africa Peace Award.

Ambassador Nourrice then expressed his appreciation to all the ambassadors and friends of Seychelles in Kenya including three former Mayors in Nairobi who had accepted the invitation to honour the occasion.

Eric Chinje, chief executive of the African Media Initiative, took the floor to read messages of congratulations which had been received from all corners of the globe. He said these constituted a volume which could run into several more hours than the time allocated to him. Sadly he said he would not be able to read all messages but these would be accessed on line.

However, he randomly selected a few that were read out among which included the message received from the Commissioner for Peace and Security of the African Union Commission (AUC), Mr Smail Chergui; the former President of Ethiopia H.E. Girma Wolde-Giorgis and Rev. Dr. Andre Karamaga, the Secretary General of All Africa Conference of Churches, whose presence that evening was acknowledged. All three in their messages had fully endorsed President Mancham’s achievement and work for peace and reconciliation in Africa and many parts of the world.

A second batch of selected samples of messages read were from: David Krieger President, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, California, USA; Glen Forbes, Principal Oceanuslive News network; Nachiket Dave, Senior Advocate Supreme Court of India, New Delhi, India; Asaf Hajiyev, Executive Secretary of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Corporation (PABSEC), Besiktas, Istanbul, Turkey; Professor Negoslav Ostojic, Executive Director, European Center for Peace and Development (ECPD), Belgrade, Serbia; Ben Boultbee, Director of BBI Media, Film and Television Company, Australia;

Olivier Giscard d’Estaing, Chairman International Movement For Relations between States and Religions, Neuilly-sur-Seine, France; and Professor Dennis Hardy, Vice Chancellor, University of Seychelles, Mahé, Seychelles.

Before presenting the peace award to Sir James, H.E. Ambassador, Mussie Hailu – Regional Director of URI-Africa and Representative of URI at the African Union Commission (AUC); Intergovernmental Authority for Development (IGAD); United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA); United Nations Office in Nairobi, Kenya and Special Envoy of Economic, Social and Cultural Council of the AU on Interfaith, Interreligious and Intercultural issues, said that as a political activist on the continent of Africa he had followed the activities of Sir James throughout the years from the time he became the Founding President of the Republic of Seychelles, through his exile in UK, an entrepreneur and as a promoter of reconciliation between and within nations and his subsequent return to Seychelles after 15 years in exile as ‘an apostle of national reconciliation’.

“I have at all times been impacted by his wisdom, his sincerity, his commitment for peace for a better world and his love for humanity. These qualities of this great individual are clearly revealed further in his philosophy of peace of mind, his poetry and the books he has written,” said Ambassador Hailu.

In an atmosphere of wide applause from the audience, Ambassador Mussie Hailu called Sir James to the podium to receive the prestigious Award. Sir James was first presented with a trophy in the shape of the continent of Africa, the formal recognition as the recipient of the URI trophy for Africa for the year 2016.

He was then presented with a plaque in appreciation and acknowledgement of his tireless efforts in promoting of peace, interreligious and intercultural harmony, constructive dialogues among civilisations, shared security, reconciliation, social justice, good governance and for his visionary and extraordinary leadership.

The final decoration came by way of the gold medal as a symbol of peace-leader of the year.

Against the background of continued applause, Sir James was called upon to make his acceptance speech.

Sir James on taking the floor spoke about his connection with the African continent when he visited for the first time in 1947 as a young boy of only 8 years old and his parents took him and his brother on a visit to Kenya. It was then that he discovered the beauty and potential of this great country. Sir James was especially applauded when he said that it was in Nairobi that he first ate an ice cream in a restaurant called ‘Polar Bear’ and at that time also consumed a lot of Vimtos that was on the market several years before the arrival of Coca-Cola and Pepsi on the continent.

Against this colourful background of abundance and prosperity there was the sad reality that Kenya at that time was being ruled under the policy of colour bar, continued Sir James. He said that in this context the Europeans were at the top of the social political and economic ladder, the Indian immigrant in the second tier while the Africans were third class citizens in their own country. Not unexpectedly therefore, there was a rise of nationalism within Kenya with all tribes working together and in unity to seek independence.

“It was against this political climate that we saw the birth of the Mau Mau Movement under the leadership of Mzee Jomo Kenyatta. Much water had gone under the bridge since 1947 and it is with great honour and privileged that I returned to Kenya in 1963 to represent the Seychelles at Kenya’s independence celebration under the leadership of Kenya’s first President, H.E. Mzee Jomo Kenyatta. At this time, the most popular song in Kenya was ‘Harambee’ and I learned from my African friends that the lyrics of the song professed that now that the British have left Kenya, all Kenyans should now work together in fraternal harmony to promote and consolidate stability, peace and prosperity in the interest of all. There lies the ‘spirit of Harambee’, a spirit calling for national unity and national harmony which today must be made to prevail not only in Kenya but in Seychelles, the African continent and the entire world,” declared Sir James.

In conclusion, Sir James took the opportunity to express his appreciation to Seychelles President James A. Michel for his congratulatory message but more importantly for moving forward towards a policy of reconciliation and national unity.

The appreciation also went to URI-Africa; Common Purpose Africa; World Alliance-Le Club de Madrid; the Embassy of the Republic of Seychelles in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and its Consulate in Nairobi, Kenya and the Honourable Jude Loveday of the Seychelles Consulate in Nairobi, Kenya – the five organisations immediately concerned with the presentation of the award ceremony – but also to other international organisations with which he has been engaged over recent years in the cause of peace and the creation of a better world order  –  The World Future Council (WFC) in Hamburg, Germany; The European Center for Peace and Development (ECPD) in Belgrade, Serbia; The Institute for Cultural Diplomacy (ICD) in Berlin, Germany; The Centrist Asia Pacific Democrats International (CAPDI), in Manila, Philippines; The Global Energy Parliament (GEP) in India; The Global Peace Federation (GPF) in USA; The Commonwealth; The International Chief Justices of the World Conference in India; The Ocean Exchange in Savannah, Georgia, USA; The World Entrepreneurs Forum (WEF) in France and of course his involvement as an elected member of the Committee of the Wise and Elders of Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA).

“Finally, of course, I must express my appreciation to my wife, family, friends and staff who have encouraged and supported me over the years,” said Sir James.