Tribute to Ikaweba Bunting From Global Pan African Movement, North America Chapter
Ikaweba Bunting was born on 01/09/1949. Our brother Ikaweba Bunting joined the ancestors on October 3, 2024 but he is still with us in spirit. Dr Ikaweba Bunting lived and worked in eastern and southern Africa for more than four decades before returning to the US in 2002. His work inside the Global Pan African Movement (GPAM) North American delegation was exemplary as our collective worked to bring clarity to the process that culminated as the 8th Pan African Congress in Ghana 2015. Soon after that experience, Ikaweba returned to East Africa and specifically Tanzania to continue the work of broadening Pan African consciousness and the full unification of Africa.
As is known, Ndugu Ikaweba had relocated from California to join the intensified struggles for the Liberation of Southern Africa. At that historical conjuncture Tanzania was shouldering the major task of supporting the independence struggles in Angola, Zimbabwe, Namibia and South Africa. The work of Ikaweba with the youths of Tanzania is well known, along with his cultural work in the area of film. He worked for the Tanzanian Film Company and is a former CEO and Festival Director of Zanzibar International Film Festival (ZIFF).
One area where Ndugu Ikaweba stood out was his steadfast work for peace and reconstruction in Africa. He had labored closely with Mwalimu Nyerere and grasped many of the life skills of tenacious work. Ikaweba worked tirelessly for peace and reconstruction in the Great lakes Region. After the passing of Mwalimu Nyerere in 1999 Ndugu Ikaweba placed all of his training and skills into a project for peace and reconstruction. His pedantic reading of the documents and his defense of Africa is one part of his life that needs to be fully documented.
Inside the Mwalimu Nyerere Foundation, Ndugu Ikaweba served as a bridge between the foundation and progressive anti- imperialist youth in all parts of East Africa. From the tributes thus far, we can see that he is already missed by the youth in Kenya and Uganda as much as being missed by the youth of Tanzania. He was a father and brother to countless numbers.
With great optimism, Ikaweba served with the Global Pan African Movement in Kampala seeking to salvage the 8th Pan African Congress process. In the past ten years, even while enduring excruciating pain, Ikaweba sought to bring different constituencies of Global Africa together. Even some of those who have discredited themselves within Global Africa. Our students who Ikaweba sent to us were always in touch and reflecting on the pain and illness of Ndugu Ikaweba. He choose to be with his people in Tanzania and never sought to relocate to Babylon. One of his last pieces was his tribute to the search for Unity in Africa with lessons from the Union of Tanganyika and Zanzibar.
Ikaweba manifested this leadership and commitment in his own life.
To Ika’s family and comrades we say “Asante Sana” for giving this brother the space and opportunity, the love and support to be a global champion for the liberation of Africa. May we draw inspiration form his journey to continue this road for the Unification of Africa and the emancipation of humans everywhere.
Ndugu Horace G. Campbell,
Chairperson, GPAM, North American delegation
