By Spy Uganda
Burkina Faso has announced the scrapping of visa fees for all African travellers, a landmark step that resonates strongly with the Pan-African Pyramid’s (PAP) Kampala Declaration passed barely two weeks ago at the 8th PAP Global Awards in Kampala.
“From now on, any citizen from an African country wishing to go to Burkina Faso will not pay any amount to cover visa fees,” announced Security Minister Mahamadou Sana, after a cabinet meeting chaired by military leader Capt. Ibrahim Traoré.
Although travellers will still be required to apply online for entry approval, this decision places Burkina Faso alongside Rwanda, Kenya, and Ghana—nations already embracing visa-free entry for fellow Africans.
This historic move by Capt. Traoré makes him the first African leader to respond to PAP’s clarion call for a borderless Africa as captured in the Kampala Declaration, which rallied the continent towards “One Africa, One Passport, Visa Free Africa,One Currency, One Army, and a Visa-Free Africa.”
At the recently concluded Awards, PAP Chairman and Founding Speaker Andrew Irumba Katusabe reminded Africa that “our unity is costly but worth every sacrifice, for the cost of disunity is even greater.” Today, that call finds tangible meaning as Burkina Faso, whose name means “Land of Upright People,” takes a bold stride in dismantling colonial-era barriers that still divide Africans.
Capt. Traoré—already honoured earlier this year as a 2025 PAP Global Awards recipient in Ouagadougou—received the Award in January when Irumba, flanked by Pan-African icons like Bishop Joshua Maponga Marara (Zimbabwe) and Dr. Waka Waka (USA), personally delivered it to him. On that occasion, Irumba handed him the African flag, inviting him to take up leadership in steering the continent towards true integration.
By waiving visa fees, Traoré has not only embraced Pan-African ideals but has also underscored this year’s PAP Awards theme: “One Africa, One Passport, One Currency, One Army.” The decision will not only ease travel but also boost tourism, culture, and solidarity among Africans, reaffirming Burkina Faso’s place at the forefront of Africa’s liberation struggle.
Traore sent his blue eyed 3 man underground Delegation to represent him at the awards ceremony, whose picture and leadership were used as the theme for this year’s ceremony. The delegation was only prevy to the convenor, Speaker Andrew Irumba Katusabe, as earlier discussed in Ouagadougou.
