The Thought and Practice of an Emancipatory Politics for Africa

Ernest Wamba-dia-Wamba Bazunini was a Congolese intellectual and revolutionary whose life was devoted to thinking a popular emancipatory politics in both theory and practice. Born to a peasant family in a Kikongo-speaking part of central Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), respect, love and dignity were fundamental values through- out his upbringing which he carried into his lifelong political and intellectual pursuits. He studied philosophy and economics in the United States and France and was a professor of history at the University of Dar es Salaam for most of his academic life. He was also president of the Council for Social Science Research in Africa (Codesria) from 1992 to 1995.

This dialogue is based on interviews conducted with Wamba in May 2019 in Pretoria and embodies some of the most important ideas he left to us.