Friday, May 16 Bissau - Four Afro Descendants of Guinean origin, Balanta descendant Fabian Anthony, and three sisters and Fula descendants, Joyce, Shirley and Rosemary Goodson, received their Guinean passports from the Director of Immigration, Lino Leal da Silva at the Office of Immigration in Bissau, Guinea Bissau.
The govrnment of Guinea Bissau has begun granting citizenship to Afro Descendants of Guinean origin. On January 16, 2025, the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Guinea Bissau approved the citizenship of nine Afro Descendants, all of them Balanta descendants and members of the Balanta B’urassa History and Genealogy Society In America (BBHAGSIA). On February 6, 2025 the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Guinea Bissau approved the citizenship of ten more Afro Descendants of Balanta, Fula and Djola origin. On February 13, the Council approved one more citizenship. There are fourteen (14) more citizenships to be approved and there is already a third and fourth batch of applicants.
The naturalization program is part of the Decade of Return Initiative launched by Siphiwe Baleka and the Balanta B’urassa History and Genealogy Society in America in 2021 and developed in partnership with Daiana Taborda Gomes, founder of Repat Bissau. The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights commended The President of Guinea Bissau for this initiative to recognize the Right of Return of the Afro Descendants taking place within the context of the African Union’s Theme of the Year, “Justice for Africans and People of African Descent through Reparations.”
The next tour to Guinea Bissau is being scheduled now for November. For more information, click here.
