Many celebrities and business executives visited Africa last year for various reasons.
Some came to trace their ancestors, while others came for the funfair.
Ghana, in particular, was the main point of interest. Following the declaration of 2019 as the Year of Return, the West African country welcomed a number of foreign visitors, particularly celebrities from the United States.
Big names like Black Panther star, Lupita Nyong’o and Beyonce’s mother, Tina Knowles-Lawson, Bozoma Saint John, Boris Kodjoe, Nicole Ari Parker, Diggy Simmons, Micheal Jai White, Anthony Anderson (of Blackish), Rosario Dawson, Jidenna, Cynthia Bailey and Steve Harvey were in Ghana. Others were Samuel L. Jackson, Deborah Cox, Ernie Smith, Irvin Mayfield, reggae band Third World, Luda Cris, Cardi B, Rick Ross, Kofi Kingston, Danny Glover, T.I, Tiny, and Hisham Tawfiq.
Others were also in other African countries and were lucky enough to be granted citizenship.
Ludacris
Rapper Ludacris, along with a number of his peers, spent three weeks in Africa to celebrate the Year of Return. Before visiting Ghana, he traveled to Gabon, his wife’s birthplace.
The Fast and Furious actor and his family were given Gabonese passports. And it was reported that his entire family was at the office of Gabon’s Foreign Minister, D’Alain-Claude Bille.
According to the reports, obtaining his and his family’s citizenship had been in the works for many years.
Samuel L. Jackson
After tracing his ancestry to the Benga tribe, actor Samuel L. Jackson became a Gabonese citizen. “Jackson traced his roots to the Bantu tribe in Gabon,” according to The Guardian. The Bantu people speak Bantu languages and are made up of several hundred indigenous ethnic groups spread across Sub-Saharan Africa, from Central Africa to the African Great Lakes.”
After discovering his ancestors, Jackson traveled to Gabon and met with President Ali Bongo Ondimba and his wife, Sylvia Bongo Ondimba. Jackson was granted Gabonese citizenship as well as a passport.
Idris Elba
Actor Idris Elba was given citizenship of his father’s native country on his first visit to Sierra Leone. Speaking to the BBC, he said: “the biggest honour I could get from my country”.
“I’m no stranger to Africa: I’ve been in Africa, I’ve made films in Africa, I’ve championed Africa,” he said. “But Sierra Leone, it’s a very different feeling because it’s my parents’ home.”
Tifanny Haddish
Tifanny Haddish was granted citizenship by her father’s home country of Eritrea before the other celebrities on this list.
During her May visit to the Horn of Africa nation to participate in their independence day celebrations, the Girls Trip star’s application for an Eritrean ID was approved. As a result, she became an Eritrean citizen.