UNITY WINS: LANGLEY BACKTRACKS ON TRAORÉ LIES!

If anyone doubted that Pan-African unity could prevail, US Africa Command's General Michael Langley backpedalling on his baseless accusations against Burkina Faso’s revolutionary president, Ibrahim Traoré, is all the evidence we need!

Langley is in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi for the African Chiefs of Defence Conference 2025, an event attended by US military brass and defence ministers from 38 African countries. In his 27 May interview with Kenya-based Citizen TV, Yvonne Okwara (@yvonneokwara on X) asked him to clarify his 3 April claim at the US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing that he ‘doesn't mind calling out’ corrupt African leaders, alleging Traoré is using the country’s recently reclaimed gold reserves to protect a ‘junta regime.’ 

Perhaps due to the outpouring of support for Traoré (@capitaineib226 on X) and Burkina Faso’s revolutionary process on the Internet and during solidarity actions held in the aftermath, most notably on 30 April across the continent and the diaspora, Langley seemed to backtrack.

In this clip, he claims his words were merely a 'cautionary' message, even going so far as to praise Burkina Faso's progress, a U-turn from his 3 April statement. 

Since Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger ousted Western-aligned leaders in recent years, they have embarked on decolonisation processes that have involved reclaiming natural resources, building infrastructure and booting foreign troops. On 6 July 2024, the three states established the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) to move toward a federal, Pan-African state on their territories. They have announced a radical goal of eventually uniting the continent under one governance.

Unlike before, when we watched imperial powers smear our revolutionaries to justify oustings or assassinations, this is a new era.

While it is satisfying to hear Langley back off, we are also aware that imperialists have a lengthy history of employing manipulation tactics to pacify the masses. Therefore, we must remain vigilant and continue to stand firmly behind the AES, which is paving the way for a new, dignified chapter for the African people in the 21st century.

Video credit: @citizentvkenya