Simukai Chigudu, African politics professor: I support reparations

About this episode

Simukai Chigudu discusses the legacy of empire, the Rhodes Must Fall campaign, and the case for reparations.

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 has 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…

People in this episode

Host: Amol Rajan

Guest: Simukai Chigudu

Topics covered

• reparations
• legacy of empire
• decolonisation
• African politics
• Rhodes Must Fall
• slavery

Keywords

• reparations
• empire
• decolonisation
• African politics
• Cecil Rhodes
• Rhodes Must Fall
• slavery

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Oxford University, Oriel College, BBC World Service

Books & works: Chasing Freedom: Coming of Age at the End of Empire

Places: Zimbabwe, Britain

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