My Afro Origins program: issuance of certificates to 10 new Afro-descendants.
On Saturday, December 27, 2025, the Cotonou Judicial Complex served as the venue for the second official ceremony issuing Beninese nationality certificates to Afro-descendants, within the framework of the My Afro Origins program.
Through this initiative, the Beninese State reaffirms its willingness to fully assume its historical heritage and to position itself as a land of welcome, shared memory, and the building of a common future.
The ceremony was held in the presence of several members of the government, including the Minister of Justice and Legislation, Keeper of the Seals, Yvon Détchénou, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Olushegun Adjadi Bakari, as well as Jacques Aguia Daho, Chief of Staff at the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and the Arts, representing the minister in charge of the sector.
This institutional mobilization testifies to the symbolic and political scope accorded to this initiative.
In total, ten Afro-descendants received their Beninese nationality certificates.
This document constitutes a decisive step in the legal process of acquiring nationality and marks their official recognition by the Beninese State as full members of the national community.
Speaking, the Director of Civil Affairs and the Seals at the Ministry of Justice and Legislation, Aubierge Olivia Lucette Hungbo, recalled that the granting of these attestations results from a rigorous procedure, strictly governed by the texts in force. She emphasized the strong symbolic dimension of this initiative, which aims to strengthen the bonds between Benin and Afro-descendants around the world in a lasting way.
For her part, Rose-Marie Sossa, technical advisor at the same ministry, emphasized the recipients’ deep attachment to Benin, seen as a space of memory, identity reconnection, and official recognition.
Through the My Afro Origins program, Benin thus pursues its ambition to rebuild historical ties with the descendants of the African diaspora and to offer them a clear institutional framework to reconnect with their homeland.
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