Championing a visa-free Africa

The liberalisation loosens the colonial grip on African life. It allows states to maintain sovereignty while refusing to let colonial lines dictate connectivity

- Dennis Mulilo

At its 1964 meeting in Cairo, the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), the forerunner of the African Union (AU), passed a resolution on the inviolability of colonial borders, pledging to respect the inherited boundaries that existed at independence.

The meeting adopted a principle of international law expressed in Latin as uti possidetis, meaning “as you possess, so you may continue to possess”.

In practice, it meant that when a new state was born, its borders defaulted to the administrative boundaries it had before independence, rather than being redrawn from scratch.

African leaders acknowledged that the borders were arbitrary lines drawn as tools of colonial control, with no regard for language, culture, customs or kinship.

Therefore, the resolution was not an endorsement of colonial cartography. It was a realistic response to a fragile moment in history.

Faced with the real risk that territorial disputes could spiral into endless conflict and derail the project of African emancipation, the OAU chose stability as a necessary foundation for freedom. It was about peace over perfection.

Across the continent, Africans have long seen themselves as one people and borders as little more than lines on a map.

"We are one people" is a common refrain heard from political leaders and citizens whose lives, families and livelihoods have always transcended state boundaries.