24th April, 2025 - 17:00
Stadscampus, s.C.1.03​
Prinsstraat 13 – Antwerpen

Decolonising The Gambia’s Colonial Heritage

Colonial heritage occupies a prominent debate in contemporary Africa’s decolonisation discourse. Discussions range from colonial buildings bearing colonial names, streets named after colonial masters, and statues that imposed glorification or gratification, to artefacts taken to Europe during the colonial period. In the Western polity debates on colonial heritage, Africa is often portrayed as lacking history, with the narrative suggesting that its civilisation was a product of colonialism. Africa therefore continues to be impacted by colonialism.

What remains largely absent from these discussions are the hidden stories of Africans who fought against slavery and colonialism. What is missing in the literature are the written and oral histories of the decolonised people and their communities in the context of decolonising colonial heritage.

Using Achille Mbembe framework “On the Postcolony” (2001) exalting on the experiences of the decolonised people, there is an urgent need for discourse on postcolonial understanding of the past to explain the present and help shape a more inclusive future. This discourse must prioritise African perspectives, especially the contemporary perspectives and understanding of postcolonial relations between Europe and Africa. This includes the discourse on colonial heritage, such as monuments in honour of colonial figures, and other colonial buildings. This research is salient and timely to contribute to a broader understanding of African history within the context of decolonisation discourse.

This guest lecture will delve into the salient case study of The Gambia - “Decolonising Gambia's multicolonial heritage: a palimpsest”. Despite being the smallest country in Mainland Africa, The Gambia, due to its strategic location on the West Coast of Africa is considered the "gateway to West Africa". The River Gambia was and still is strategic due to its navigability and therefore coveted by European powers. The Gambia has been an important reference point in decolonial discourse. A position that can be traced back to the 1980s and 1990s with the country's initiation of the Roots Homecoming festival to promote public knowledge about slavery, repatriated slaves, and African American returnees, and promote the rich culture and traditions of the people. This became an important part of Gambian national identity centred on roots and the legacy of the slave trade.

About Jimmy Henry Nzally

Jimmy Henry Nzally teaches at the University of The Gambia (UTG. He has a master’s degree in African History at the UTG and a second master’s degree at the VUB where he employed postcolonial theorising and discourse analysis in his thesis: ‘A Socio-Criticism of Gambian Literature’. Nzally has a PhD in Political Science from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, where he was also a lecturer and teaching assistant. Nzally is an interdisciplinary researcher with expertise spanning African History, Political Science, Migration Studies and Postcolonial Studies. His research methodologies span from historiography, archival research, oral history, postcolonial theorising and discourse analysis. Nzally's main expertise lies in African international relations, postcolonial African studies, and decolonisation approaches.

Nzally has a strong network in Belgium within African diaspora communities which stems from his studies. At the VUB for example, he founded the Africa Students Community (ASCOM) and subsequently the Latin America Students Community (LADCOM). Furthermore, he partnered with “Memoir Coloniale” in Belgium, an organisation dedicated to creating awareness in the construction of a decolonial civic consciousness through history, the cultural values of Africa, and the investment of public space. Furthermore, he has served on the Diaspora Advisory Board as a board member of the International Organisation for Migration in Belgium and Luxembourg.