Simukai Chigudu, African Politics Professor: I support reparations

“The European empires are guilty of a great many sins and horrors. And I actually think they should all be taking on a very serious project of decolonisation and reparative justice.”

Amol Rajan speaks to Simukai Chigudu, Associate Professor of African Politics at Oxford University about the legacy of empire and how to reckon with the past.

A member of the first generation born after the end of colonial rule in Zimbabwe, Simukai Chigudu came to the UK as a teenager and later became one of the founding members of a campaign to try to get the statue of imperialist Cecil Rhodes moved from Oriel College in Oxford.

Now an associate professor of African politics at the University of Oxford, he’s written a memoir called Chasing Freedom: Coming of Age at the End of Empire.

He discusses the legacy of the Rhodes Must Fall campaign, why he thinks we should be decolonising the curriculum and whether countries like Britain should pay reparations for slavery.

Thank you to the Radical with Amol Rajan team for its help in making this programme.

The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Helen Thompson, professor of political economy at Cambridge University, and acclaimed author Sir Salman Rushdie. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts.

Presenter: Amol Rajan
Producer: Cordelia Hemming
Editor: Damon Rose

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(Image: Simukai Chigudu Credit: BBC)