Boris Johnson goes on tour of Africa

Foreign secretary Boris Johnson, who once referred to Africa as "that country", has embarked on a tour of the continent where he will be holding talks with many of its leaders.

On Wednesday, Johnson made a stop in Somalia to unveil a UK aid package designed to help deal with the drought that has left up to 20 million people facing starvation in the Horn of Africa.

The whistle-stop tour saw Johnson land in Kenya today after stops in Uganda on Thursday, where he reiterated the UK's support for controversial Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and Ethiopia.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

The purpose of the trip has not been formally disclosed, but The Guardian points out that "the government has repeatedly declared that a post-Brexit Britain will intensify links with the Commonwealth," and that the trip may be an attempt to strengthen diplomatic and trade ties with the UK's former colonies.

However, despite his position as foreign secretary, some commentators have raised questions over the decision to send Johnson to Africa after the string of controversial statements he has made about the continent in the past.

Johnson's history of gaffes with African nations goes back at least as far as January 2002 when he referred to black people as "piccaninnies" and talked about the "watermelon smiles" of Africans greeting foreign visitors in his Daily Telegraph column. It took until 2008 for Johnson to make an apology for these remarks.

A Spectator article penned by Johnson the same year – headlined "Africa is a mess, but we can't blame colonialism" – described Africa as a continent of "little Aids-ridden choristers", "disgusting fruits" and "tribal conflicts".

In October 2016, he referred to Africa – a continent of 54 sovereign nations – as "that country" during a speech.

In February this year he referred to ousted Gambian president Yahya Jammeh as "Jammeh Dodger".

The Economist says that Johnson's "past remarks on Africa and Britain's colonial legacy have not been known for their sensitivity," while RT writes that "spin doctors will no doubt be on hand, ready to jump to the foreign secretary's rescue when he invariably puts his imperially-nostalgic foot in it."

The Guardian's Afua Hirsch claims: "It's right for Britain to reach out to Africa, but wrong to send Boris Johnson."

"It’s hard to believe anyone would genuinely welcome a foreign secretary with such revisionist view of history it would make Cecil Rhodes blush," she writes.