Mancham starts work on new book entitled ‘Among my African friends’ |02 April 2015

Sir James R. Mancham, founding President of the Republic of Seychelles who was on Saturday March 28, 2015 re-elected for a second term as a member of the Committee of Elders of Comesa (Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa), has revealed that he is actually working on a new book to be entitled ‘Among my African friends’.

In the book, Mr Mancham says he will write about the way, he believes, Africa should move forward towards peace, progress and prosperity with pride, dignity and international respect.

The revelation came in a reply letter which founding President Mancham, yesterday morning, sent to Seychelles’ current President James Alix Michel, following a congratulatory letter from the latter dated March 28, 2015, concerning Mr Mancham's re-election to the Committee of Elders of Comesa:

“Your re-election to this high profile organ of Comesa is not only well deserved but is also a source of immense pride and honour to the people of Seychelles. It underscores your qualities as a statesman and an eloquent testimony to your grandeur d’esprit. It is also an endorsement of the leadership role you have played in preventive diplomacy and on issues relating to peace, security and stability.

I wish you every success in your new mandate and assure you of my full cooperation and support in the tasks and many challenges that lie ahead,” President Michel wrote.

Sir James has had a long association with the continent of Africa. He was seven years old when his parents took him to Kenya on a holiday during the colour bar period of the Mau Mau war. Subsequently, he represented the Seychelles at the Zanzibar's independence celebration before Tanganyika forcefully annexed the small nation to create a new nation called "Tanzania." Following the Zanzibar celebration, the young Seychelles leader also represented his country at the Kenya's independence celebration when he befriended Kenya's founding President Jomo Kenyatta and the Hon. Minister Thomas Mboya who was unfortunately assassinated at a young age. While studying law in London in the late 50s, several of his friends at the Middle Temple came from West Africa – mostly from Nigeria and Ghana, which itself had seen Chief Prempeh of Ashanti, exiled by the British to Seychelles. Prempeh's grandchild was also studying at the Middle Temple – when Mr Mancham subsequently visited Ghana, he had become the Chief Justice of Ashanti.

In year 2000, Sir James was awarded the trophy of the Washington-based Foundation for Democracy in Africa, at the time of the signing of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Agreement "for his contribution to peace, progress and prosperity in Africa”.

Sir James represented the African Union (AU) Commission for the Egyptian Presidential Election which took place on May 23-24, 2012.

As a member of the Committee of Elders of Comesa, in November 2012, Sir James led a mediation mission to the Democratic Republic of Congo (Kinshasa) and to Rwanda (Kigali) with a view to avoiding a threatening war between these two neighbours.

In February 2013, as a co-chairman of the Global Peace Foundation (GPF), he addressed the youth of Kenya prior to a general election appealing for the Kenyan people to put the interest of Kenya first and to do away with tribalism within the spirit of "Harambee", which existed at the time of Kenya's independence.
Also as a co-chairman of the Federation of World Peace, in November 2013, Sir James delivered a keynote address, calling on all religious leaders in Nigeria to put aside their differences of dogma and theology to concentrate on the common cause for peace.

He also attended several summit of the now defunct French-orientated OCAM (Organisation Commune Africaines et Malgaches), which provided him with the opportunity of meeting and sharing times with such African personalities like President Léopold Sédar Senghor of Senegal; President Félix Houphouet Boigny of Ivory Coast, and of course Emperor Jean-Bedél Bokassa of the Central African Republic. From English-speaking West Africa, his personal friends included Liberia's Charles Cecil Dennis, Minister of Foreign Affairs, who was executed by a firing squad following the coup d'état in 1980 which overthrew the Tubman's government.

At the moment, Sir James is also the chairman of the African Chapter of the Berlin-based Institute for Cultural Diplomacy (ICD).

He has been invited to become a member of the Advisory Board of the AGOA Civil Society Network of the Foundation for Democracy in Africa and has accepted an invitation to be a guest speaker at the inaugural Mandela Washington Fellowship Southern Africa Conference which should be held in Johannesburg, South Africa, from May 17-19, 2015 – which is the flagship programme of President Barack Obama's Young African Leaders Initiative. Sir James has been invited to be the guest speaker at the Leaders and Conversation session on May 19.

In a statement issued yesterday morning, Sir James said – “Sadly there is only 24 hours in a day. The challenges and tasks before us are exciting but enormous. For sure, Africa and its people have no time to waste. The continent is on the verge of a big awakening. Africa's voice must certainly be heard and better considered in the architecture of the future world.”