Benin: 53 Afro-descendants from Haiti, France, and Martinique receive citizenship in Cotonou

Fifty-three Afro-descendants received their certificates of Beninese nationality on Saturday, October 24, 2026, at the Cotonou Judicial Complex. Coming primarily from Haiti, France, and Martinique, they have become Beninese following a procedure open to the descendants of people deported during the Atlantic slave trade.

The ceremony was presided over by Florentin Gbodou, Chief of Staff to the Minister of Justice and Legislation, and by Jocelyn Flenon, Chief of Staff to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in charge of the integration of Afro-descendants, reports La Nouvelle Tribune. Marie Rose Sossa, technical advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, was also in attendance.

A law, three ways to prove ancestry

The framework is based on a law adopted on July 31, 2024, according to Bénin Web TV, following the presentation of the bill to the Council of Ministers in May 2024. The text allows for several ways to establish Beninese ancestry: civil registry documents, testimonies, or DNA tests. Applications have been submitted since July 4, 2025, via an online platform, My Afro Origins.

This is not the first presentation of certificates. La Nouvelle Tribune reports a ceremony on March 21, 2026, for nine people, mostly Haitian, followed by another on July 30, 2026, for twenty-eight people. Bénin Web TV mentions a ceremony on August 29, 2026, for ten people, mostly from Guadeloupe. Neither source provides a cumulative total or the number of pending applications.

"Finally reclaiming my identity"

The new citizens say something simple: this document repairs something. Béatrice Toni, a French Afro-descendant, speaks of a "deep memorial dimension" and intends to begin the process so that her loved ones can also obtain citizenship. Jean-Luc Vigne, from Martinique, says he has "finally reclaimed" his identity. Judith Anglade, from Haiti, calls it "an immense honor," according to La Nouvelle Tribune.

By enshrining this recognition in law rather than as a one-off honorary gesture, Benin has established an identifiable administrative procedure open to all who can establish their ancestry. It is one of the most concrete legal translations of the continental debate on the memory of the slave trade and the reparation of historical injustices.

The question of what happens the day after remains. Obtaining citizenship does not resolve issues of settlement, employment, or integration into local communities, and the two sources consulted say nothing about the plans of these 53 individuals. But for those who were in Cotonou on October 24, 2026, the cycle that began several centuries ago on these very shores has closed a little.