Rastafarians rally in Montego Bay to support Burkina Faso's leader Ibrahim Traoré

A group of Rastafarians on Wednesday gathered in downtown Montego Bay, St James, to publicly express solidarity with Ibrahim Traoré, the transitional president of Burkina Faso.

Chanting messages of African unity and waving pan-African flags, the group paid homage to the young African leader, whom they described as a symbol of resistance against neo-colonialism and Western interference in African affairs.

The peaceful demonstration drew curious onlookers and passersby as the Rastafarians shared their message of support.

“We are here to celebrate and to uphold the work of Ibrahim Traoré. We are in support of the president for the liberation of our black mother country, Africa,” said Wesley Kelly, the high priest of the Haile Selassie Jah Rastafari Royal Ethiopian Judah Coptic Church.

He said the Rastafarians in Jamaica are in full support of Burkina Faso’s president, whom he said has come to liberate Africa from the white colonisers.

Traoré assumed leadership of Burkina Faso in September 2022, ousting interim president Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba in a coup d'état.

He has embarked on an agenda aimed at distancing the country from its former colonial ruler France, enhancing national sovereignty, economic self-reliance and cultural identity.

“The work of leaders [here in Jamaica] must take a page out of Ibrahim Traoré’s book that he had written, the changing of the guard to liberate our motherland and our fatherland. Jamaica is the fatherland, and Africa-Ethiopia is our motherland, so we in this island home, the island in the sun, must agitate for our rights,” Priest Kelly told The Gleaner.

Demonstrations in support of Traoré have gained momentum across Africa and among diaspora communities globally after Burkina Faso’s military government said on April 22 that it had foiled a “major plot” to overthrow Traoré.

In a post on social media platform X on Wednesday Traoré said: "I would like to express my gratitude to all the peace-loving, freedom-loving patriots and pan-Africanists who rallied around the world on Wednesday April 30, 2025 to support our commitment and our vision for a new Burkina Faso and a new Africa, free from imperialism and neo-colonialism."

"Your active solidarity and this demonstration of sympathy strengthens our conviction that the fight we are waging for a fairer and more equitable world is justified," he added.

- Albert Ferguson

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