The Ocean Remembers — Reflections for Africa Day
📖 Read Time: Approx. 6 minutes
The sea remembers. And so do I.
Every year on May 25, the continent pauses to reflect, honour, and celebrate. This is Africa Day, a date commemorating the founding of the Organisation of African Unity in 1963, now the African Union. And a moment to acknowledge both the victories and the ongoing struggles of the African continent and its people.
This year’s theme could not be more poignant:
“Justice for Africans and People of African Descent Through Reparations.”
Justice is not a single act or moment. It is a layered, continuous effort — social, political, emotional, and deeply personal. Today, I found myself standing on the shores of the Kenyan coast — facing the ocean, barefoot in the sand, a glass of Riesling beside me. What began as a quiet personal moment soon became something deeper: a conversation between land, memory, and legacy.
A Shoreline That Carries Stories
Mulongo in red holding Riesling by the ocean on Africa Day.
The Kenyan coast is breath-taking. Rich with culture, cuisine, and a rhythm uniquely its own. But its beauty doesn’t erase its history. These shores were once bustling with the spice trade, and later entwined in the dark history of the Indian Ocean slave trade. The breezes that carry cardamom and cloves today also carry whispers of sorrow, of people taken, lives uprooted, and dignity stripped away.
In global conversations around reparations and justice, East Africa is often overshadowed. But here, too, are scars. And here, too, is resilience.
What Does Justice Look Like?
Reparations, in the political sense, are essential. Institutional acknowledgment, restitution, and transformation are long overdue. But there’s also a quieter kind of justice: one that lives in how we tell our stories, how we reclaim our dignity, and how we feed ourselves and our communities with love.
For generations, Africa has been portrayed through a narrow lens: one of poverty, famine, and helplessness. And while those struggles are real in some places, and deserve urgent attention, they are not the whole story.
Africa is also creative. It’s ancestral knowledge. It’s layered cuisines, joyful music, textured fabrics, complex philosophies, and profound love.
Food as Justice. Food as Memory.
Through my work at Mulongo Wine & Spice, I try to contribute to this re-narration of Africa in my own way: through food, spice, and storytelling. I believe deeply in the power of everyday ingredients to nourish not only the body, but also the soul.
I create recipes grounded in what is local and available. Not because it’s trendy, but because it’s true. Food doesn’t have to be expensive to be meaningful. It just has to be made with intention, with memory, and with love.
Whether it's a simple rice dish seasoned with lemongrass and coriander, or a fish stew uplifted by turmeric and coconut, Africa’s culinary richness is profound. And yet, for too long, African cuisines have been dismissed as unsophisticated or underdeveloped , not because of what they are, but because of who makes them.
That’s why I create and share recipes that are humble, heart-warming, and deeply African. Because I believe food can be an act of reclamation. A bowl of joy. A plate of pride.
A Toast to the Ancestors
A glass of Riesling in honour of Africa Day
As I stood by the sea, I didn’t need grand speeches or fanfare. Just the salty wind, the scent of spice in the air, and the cold glass of Riesling in my hand.
And I toasted.
To the ancestors who endured.
To the ones who resisted.
To the ones who created beauty even in the face of suffering.
To justice — in all its forms.
To joy that insists on rising.
Today and Every Day
Africa Day is not just a celebration of what Africa has been — but a re-commitment to what Africa can be. And for me, that starts at the table. With fresh food, with honest flavour, and with deep, undiluted love.
Thank you for being part of this journey. One where we honour the past, uplift the present, and dream for the future.
Happy Africa Day.
— Mulongo Binti Simiyu