Pan-African Pyramid founding Speaker and Chairman Andrew Irumba Katusabe has called for greater African unity, urging leaders and citizens across the continent to break the psychological and economic barriers created by colonial borders and work towards building a united Africa.
Speaking at the 9th Pan-African Pyramid (PAP) Global Awards 2026 and 12th Anniversary Dinner held at Speke Resort Munyonyo on August 29, Katusabe also paid tribute to the late Rajiv Ruparelia, whose humanitarian legacy was the theme of the event.
He said Rajiv’s relatively short life of 35 years demonstrated that the true measure of a person is not longevity but the number of lives touched and communities improved. Drawing parallels with historical figures including Martin Luther King Jr., Thomas Sankara, Patrice Lumumba and Steve Biko, Katusabe said Rajiv’s legacy should inspire Africans to place humanity, service and the empowerment of others at the centre of success.
Katusabe further renewed his call for a United States of Africa, envisioning a continent where Africans can freely move, work, trade, invest and innovate across national boundaries. He argued that Pan-Africanism should move beyond rhetoric and become a practical force for economic, social and political integration, with Africa’s resources, businesses and young people contributing to a common continental destiny.
Read the full speech below:
The Chief Guest, H.E. Dr. Sudhir Ruparelia, Honorary Consul of Nepal to the Republic of Uganda and Chairman, Ruparelia Group; our Patron and Chairman Advisory Board, Hon. Alex Ruhunda, our key note speaker and elder, Bishop Joshua Maponga, Hon. Dr. Khanyisile Litchfield Tshabala ANC revolutionary and member of parliament in South African national Assembly, Honourable Members of Parliament; distinguished guests; fellow Pan-Africanists; comrades, ladies and gentlemen.
In the spirit of our Pan-African forefathers, allow me to address us simply as comrades, because beneath our titles, nationalities and positions, we remain united by one fundamental truth: We’re all children under our mother land—Africa.
It is a great honour to welcome you to the 9th Pan-African Pyramid Global Awards 2026 as we also celebrate our 12th year of our existence, held under the theme: “Remembering the Humanitarian Legacy of our Comrade, Rajiv Ruparelia.”
Rajiv lived on this earth for a relatively very short time just 35 years, yet his life reminds us of a profound truth:
The measure of a life is not how long one lives, but how deeply one impacts humanity. Some people live long but leave little behind. Others live briefly, yet leave footprints that impact generations.
And tonight, comrades, we remember Rajiv, a young man whose footprints have refused to disappear.
Our most revered revolutionary and moral compass in the struggle for human dignity, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., was born on January 15, 1929, and assassinated on April 4, 1968, at the age of 39.
He was killed at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, where he had gone to support striking street cleaners who were fighting for fair treatment and better working conditions.
But more than half a century later, the world still remembers his name, his voice and his dream.
Thomas Sankara of Burkina Faso was only 37 when he was assassinated in 1987. Patrice Lumumba of the Democratic Republic of Congo was only 35 when he was assassinated in 1961.
Steve Biko of South Africa was only 30 when he died in 1977 after being brutally tortured in police custody.
His philosophy of Black Consciousness continues to influence African political and intellectual thought.
Amílcar Cabral, the great revolutionary thinker of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde, was assassinated at the age of 48 in 1973. His ideas on liberation, culture and African self-determination continue to inspire generations even today.
But comrades, why should I even take you far when there is Jesus Christ who was crucified at the age of only 33! Today, he has millions of faithfuls around the world.
Think about that; Jesus—33, Lumumba—35, Sankara—37, Steve Biko—30, Martin Luther King Jr.—39.
These men did not need eight decades to make their names immortal. Their years were few, but their impact was enormous.
History teaches us something extraordinary, that; longevity is not merely measured by the number of years we spend on earth. It is measured by the number of lives we touch, the ideas we plant and the humanity we leave behind.
And that is where Rajiv’s story becomes particularly powerful. Rajiv was 35 years old, when we lost him in a fatal accident, when he had just returned from UK to attend a friend’s wedding at this very Hotel, the following morning!
He returned to Uganda for a friend’s function, because he valued friendships, brotherhood and humanity. These are very core principles against which Pan Africanism is anchored. Care for others. Martin Luther was killed while in a hotel waiting for day break so he could join street cleaners in their pursuit for fair treatment.
Just like Martin Luther and Mahatmaghandi, Rajiv’s legacy speaks to another dimension of the African struggle—the struggle to improve human life, create opportunity and put humanity at the centre of success.
Tonight we are not gathered to mourn his death, we are gathered to celebrate the life he lived and the legacy he left.
True success is not merely what we accumulate. It is what we give. It is not simply the buildings we construct, the businesses we establish or the wealth we create. It is the people whose lives become better because we existed.
Rajiv’s legacy belongs to that category. And therefore, comrades, tonight we must not only ask:
“How long did Rajiv live?” We must ask: “How much did Rajiv live?”
Our forefathers of Pan-Africanism, Kwame Nkrumah, Julius Nyerere, Jomo Kenyatta, Kenneth Kaunda and many others, dreamt of an Africa that would determine its own destiny.
Kwame Nkrumah gave us the historic call: “Africa must unite.” That call remains unfinished business.
The Pan-Africanism that I champion today must go beyond rhetoric and start walking the journey of physically and mentally breaking the colonial borders that were left behind by our colonizers and start uniting our people.
And you don’t have to be born in Africa to believe in Africa. You don’t even have to be black to believe in Pan Africanism. Pan-Africanism is not about color or race. Pan Africanism is an Ideology. It’s an idea.
It’s a conviction that Africa and those genuinely committed to Africa’s advancement, share not merely a common history, but a common destiny. And we all know, without any iota of doubt that human civilization started in Africa. So all humanity share a common history and destiny, and that is Africa. So who can be against Pan-Africanism? Because that means you would be against humanity, and means you being against you. So would that be wisdom?!
Finally, I say this to African leaders;
I and my elders Bishop Joshua Maponga, PLO Lumumba, Dr. Arikana Kihombori, Wode Maya among others have been traversed the whole of this continent, and we bring you good news. All the 1.4 Billion people on this continent and those in the diaspora, all of them, want a United States of Africa, One country, One passport, one president with regional governors, one army to guard our mineral wealth from the western and European thieves, standing at the borders of Africa, not guarding one African against another African, no. They one police force to keep law and order inside Africa. It’s only the 54 presidents of Africa who are still finding value in those colonial borders. Meanwhile you are pretending to be working hard also to break them, no, you are not, you are pretending and we know. But we respect you.
So you may choose to keep your colonial borders on your maps, but they must never become walls in the minds of our own brothers and sisters. We are one.
We envision an Africa where an African can move, work, trade, invest and innovate across the continent without being treated as a stranger in their own home.
We are not calling for the disappearance of our cultures or national identities.
We are calling for something greater: One Africa. Many nations. One destiny.
Ultimately, our vision is a United States of Africa, an Africa united economically, socially and, eventually, politically.
Africa must unite through trade, investment, technology, infrastructure, education and the free movement of people and ideas. Our businesses must become instruments of African integration.
Our young people must see the entire continent not as 54 separate markets, but as one African marketplace.
Comrades, Africa is rich in minerals, land, talent, culture and human capital.
Yet too much of this wealth remains insufficiently harnessed for the benefit of Africans.
Our minerals must create African industries. Our agricultural wealth must feed African people.
Our young people must find opportunities at home. Our businesses must expand beyond national borders.
And Africans must increasingly see one another not as foreigners, but as brothers and sisters within one continental family.
The African border should be an administrative line, not a psychological wall. The Africa we desire will not be delivered to us. We must build it.
And as we build it, let us carry Rajiv’s humanitarian lesson with us:
That a meaningful life is measured by the people we lift, the communities we serve and the humanity we leave behind.
Let us unite our people. Let us unite our markets. Let us unite our resources. Let us unite our vision.
And ultimately—LET US UNITE AFRICA!
Africa must unite—now, not tomorrow.
I am an African, not because I am born in Africa, But because Africa is born in Me.
May God bless Africa. May God bless her people. And may the Pan-African Pyramid dream live forever.
Africa, Don’t Agonize, Organize!
I thank you very much for listening to me.”
