Thabo Mbeki endorses No Hate Speech Africa campaign

Former South African president, Thabo Mbeki has added his voice to the trending campaign against hate speech in Africa - championed by the United Nation Peace Ambassador and founder of Concerned Africans Youth Forum, Michael Opeyemi Ige

His Excellency, Thabo Mbeki who led the Commonwealth Observer Mission team to Accra for the just ended December 7 polls which saw Nana Dankwa Akufo-Addo win the election with 53.85% of the total valid votes cast - interacted with the team in Accra, where he endorsed the campaign.

“It is important to hold elections in Africa without violence or chaos like we experienced in Ghana,” he said.

“Often times, majority of these unfortunate incidence are as a result of inflammatory rhetoric made my political parties – which eventually inspires violence like we have seen in many African countries.

“The absence of hate speech will - no doubt - encourage a more peaceful election in Africa. For this reason, I endorse this campaign for the good of Africa,” he said.

No Hate Speech Africa was launched on the 28th of May at the International Conference Centre, in commemoration of the ECOWAS day under the auspices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration and in collaboration with the National Media Commission, Ghana.

NO HATE SPEECH AFRICA campaign, according to the Ige - was set up to encourage the society to discuss in a more tolerant and open manner, and to learn how to contribute in positive ways to resolving political disputes and conflict.

Since its launch in Accra, the campaign has been endorsed by prominent personalities, including Chief Dele Momodu, Zanetor Rawlings, John Dumelo, Theo Sowa, CEO African Women’s Development Fund among, and of recent, Thabo Mbeki.