Nigerian activist Omoyele Sowore has condemned U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent meeting with African leaders, calling it a “modern-day public humiliation.” He accused the leaders of submission and silence in the face of disrespect.
In a post on his verified X (formerly Twitter) handle on Thursday, Sowore expressed outrage over what he viewed as a patronising and demeaning display during the leaders’ visit to Trump at the White House.
Nigerian human rights activist, Omoyele Sowore, has criticised a recent engagement between the U.S. President Donald Trump and a group of African leaders, describing the meeting as a “modern-day public humiliation.”
In a post on his verified X (formerly Twitter) handle on Thursday, Sowore expressed outrage over what he viewed as a patronising and demeaning display during the leaders’ visit to Trump at the White House.
“What we witnessed with @realDonaldTrump and African leaders was modern day public humiliation,” Sowore wrote.
“U.S. President @realDonaldTrump openly tore into African leaders in full view of the world, first with South Africa’s President @CyrilRamaphosa and now with a second set brought for public humiliation at the US White House.”
Sowore was referring to recent clips and reports from a lunch hosted by Trump for African heads of state, where Liberia’s President Joseph Boakai and Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye were among the guests.
During the meeting, Trump asked Boakai, whose country, Liberia, has English as its official language, where he learned to speak English “so beautifully,” a remark many have criticised as ignorant and disrespectful.
Sowore accused the African leaders of failing to defend their dignity, saying, “And what was their response? Silence. Submission. Smiles.”
“The President of Liberia, Joseph Boakai sat there muttering “Yes Sir” while being stripped of his dignity,” the former presidential candidate said.
On Senegal’s President, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, Sowore stated that he was reduced to begging for a golf course, not schools, hospitals, or industrial investments.
“The new President of Senegal, Bassirou Diomaye Faye @pr_Diomaye, someone touted as young, bold, supposedly a symbol of change, was reduced to begging for a golf course, not schools, hospitals, or industrial investments.”
He said, “This is not leadership. This is the continuation of the famed Mandika slave “Kunta Kinte” chains and public flogging, asked to accept a slave name, except now that these bozos visiting @realDonaldTrump are in suits, at press briefings, in diplomatic rooms, they don’t have the spirit of Kunta Kinte, who refused to accept an English name despite torture and public infliction of pain.”
“Africa has a dignity crisis at the top,” he said.
Trump’s relationships with African nations during his presidency and beyond have been marred by controversy.
Trump’s Earlier Confrontation With Ramaphosa
In May 2025, Trump hosted South African President Cyril Ramaphosa at the White House in what was expected to be a diplomatic meeting aimed at resetting strained relations.
Instead, the encounter turned into a tense and controversial confrontation over Trump’s long-standing claims about the alleged persecution of white farmers in South Africa.
Trump dimmed the lights in the Oval Office and played a video showing South African opposition politician Julius Malema chanting a song interpreted by some as inciting violence against white farmers.
He also presented news clippings and articles that he claimed documented a “genocide” of white farmers, including footage of rows of white crosses, which he falsely claimed were graves. In reality, they were part of a memorial protest for a murdered farming couple.
Trump accused the South African government of seizing land from white farmers, enforcing anti-white policies, and supporting anti-American foreign actors like Hamas and Iran.
Ramaphosa firmly denied the genocide claims, stating: “That is not government policy. Our government policy is completely, completely against what he was saying.”
He emphasised that violent crime in South Africa affects all races, and that Trump’s narrative was misleading and inflammatory.
Ramaphosa attempted to “recalibrate” the relationship, but the meeting ended with no clear resolution and further strained U.S.–South Africa ties.
Trump had already cut U.S. aid to South Africa and granted refugee status to dozens of white South African farmers, citing persecution.
Trump’s ‘Shithole Countries’ Remark
In 2018, he reportedly referred to African nations as “shithole countries,” sparking global condemnation.
Despite this, several African leaders have maintained warm diplomatic ties with him.
President Joseph Boakai of Liberia took office in January 2024, succeeding George Weah.
He has faced criticism from some quarters over his administration’s perceived alignment with Western powers.
Senegal’s Bassirou Diomaye Faye, elected in March 2024, rose to power on a wave of youth-led populist support, campaigning on anti-corruption and economic reform.
His critics, however, are beginning to question whether his administration will follow through on those promises.
Sowore, a long-time activist and critic of African political elites, has frequently called for a new wave of African leadership unafraid to challenge foreign domination and internal corruption.
THIS STORY ORIGINALLY APPEARED AT THE SAHARA REPORTERS