Michael Jackson's Visits to Africa: A King's Connection to the Motherland

Nov 08, 2025 0

Michael Jackson's fame stretched around the world. In Africa, he was a legend and an inspiration. Former South African President Nelson Mandela celebrates with Michael Jackson.

NPR's Africa correspondent Ofeibea Quist-Arcton remembers meeting Jackson when he visited Ivory Coast in 1992. She told Michel Martin that Africans all across the continent are mourning the loss. Quist-Arcton also wrote about her experiences for NPR.org.

Michael Jackson and Nelson Mandela

More of Michael Jackson's Cultural Legacy: An African-Centered Documentary

Remember, this is a long-time Jackson 5 follower and fan-turned-reporter writing, born in the same year and month as Michael Jackson, August 1958. So I cannot claim to be detached. At age 12 or 13, I would lustily sing along to Michael Jackson and co. - be it "Ben," "Rockin' Robin," "I'll be There," "ABC," all their hits. I was a quintessential teenybopper, and grew up with the Jacksons' music. And what about those 'fros? We were just so envious of the Jackson boys' impeccable hairdos. They were so groovy.

The 1992 Visit to Ivory Coast

So when I heard in 1992 that Michael Jackson was coming to Africa - I was by then a correspondent based in Abidjan, the commercial capital of Ivory Coast - I was as excited as his thousands of fans. Jackson was having a singular honor bestowed on him, being enstooled (the equivalent of being crowned) a traditional chief of the Agni people in the southeastern village of Krinjabo, near Ivory Coast's border with neighboring Ghana.

I was at the airport, with a posse of other journalists. Government ministers were lined up on the tarmac at the foot of the plane, waiting for the musical genius to step off the aircraft. Thousands of expectant fans thronged the main thoroughfare all the way from the airport downtown. Everyone was waiting to say "Akwaaba" - welcome.

But I remember we were left open-mouthed when Jackson appeared to hold his nose as he stepped off the plane, ran down and as good as ignored the VIPs waiting to greet him. That was not the welcome anyone had expected. We were perplexed and somewhat bewildered. Such bizarre behavior was not what we had come to expect from this global musical hero and superstar. The unexplained and unfriendly nose-holding incident attracted some unfavorable reactions in the local media.

But everyone seemed ready to forgive Jackson, if only he would come down from his turreted hideout at the hotel and talk to his admirers. We finally got to meet the man - well, I say "meet," but it was more like a long glimpse after waiting and waiting and waiting. And I managed to get a four-word exclusive with Michael Jackson - on mic and on the record. That was after I thrust my microphone through a crack in the open window of the limo and shouted out: "How's your visit to Ivory Coast? How do you like Africa?"

We were thrilled. A group of my journalist colleagues and I gathered around my cassette recorder afterwards to check whether he had said anything. Bingo! The reply could not have been shorter, and it came in a tiny-weeny speaking voice from the man with the powerful falsetto singing voice. "Beautiful, I love it." Sweet success.

Michael Jackson enstooled as chief in Krindjabo, Ivory Coast

Jackson looked much happier in Krinjabo, in a village setting, where he was wrapped in a gorgeously colored, toga-style hand-woven kita (kente) cloth. He sat on a golden stool, beneath the sacred tree, and allowed fellow chiefs to place a black crown with golden adornments upon his head. The joy was reciprocated, and you had to fight to get a birdseye view to witness the ceremony on his flying visit. That's when the King of Pop became the King of the Sanwi.

The atmosphere was electric, and it appears that Jackson was electrified by the rhythms, drumming and dancing of the villagers. The promised cultural center has yet to be built, locals report. But Ivorians who witnessed the ceremony forever treasure the memory of Michael Jackson.

Early Visits and Reflections

Remarking on an earlier visit to Senegal, when he was still a teenager and the lead singer of the Jackson 5, he told Ebony magazine: "The drums and sounds filled the air with rhythm. I was going crazy, I was screaming, 'All right! They got the rhythm ... This is it. This is where I come from. The origin.'"

Many Africans are deeply sorrowful about his passing. Most seem to agree that he was only human and, like other human beings, had his faults, trials and tribulations. A Kenyan woman, with a tremor in her voice, asked how a legend dared die, because they were not supposed to die. Across the continent in West Africa, a Nigerian radio host reportedly broke down live on air. In Ghana, one woman burst out crying, sobbing inconsolably when she heard the news of his death.

Jackson also had African critics, who pointed to the troubled Michael Jackson and continued to ask questions about the changes in his skin color and the shape of his nose. They concluded that, for a man who appeared to have everything - fame and fortune and unparallelled musical talent - he was not proud to be an African American, and a beautiful black man, and that he wanted to be white.

The 1992 Visit to Gabon

In 1992, following the production of his music video for Remember the Time in which he appeared as an entertainer for a pharaoh, Michael Jackson went on a tour of Africa, starting in Gabon. The Ambassador to Gabon at the time of Jackson’s visit, Keith L. Wauchope, recalls the time he had this brush with fame. He was, to put it mildly, underwhelmed.

WAUCHOPE: I should say a word about some of the prominent visitors Gabon hosted in the last six months of my tour. [Jackson is] a very strange individual indeed. Apparently, he had been doing a music video about Egypt in which he played a young pharaoh, when the idea of visiting Africa seized him. So, Michael Jackson assembled a group of people, and they worked up an itinerary to Africa. It was the most extraordinary visit that one could ever possibly imagine. Everybody on the plane was an African-American except for one English fellow who was a holistic healer from the Caribbean. The party was accompanied Irv Hicks, an old AF [African Affairs Bureau] hand, as the State [Department] liaison person. The visit began to unravel from the moment Jackson’s plane landed.

First, there was an endless delay for Jackson to deplane, and it seemed the President’s entire family including all their kids, were waiting in the VIP lounge. They hoped for a photo opportunity with the great entertainer. One of his security men finally went up and assured him that everything was fine. When he finally raced down the ramp, he looked like Mickey Mouse. He had a red shirt and black pants and he wore white gloves. He had on a wide brimmed hat with hair streaming out underneath so you could barely see his face. As he brushed past, I tried to introduce him to the President’s daughter, who was the Foreign Minister.

He raced through the crowd with fans screaming from the balconies of the main terminal, charged through the VIP lounge with his bodyguards pushing people out of the way. By this time, crowds of fans on the grounds around the airport and from the balconies above us were erupting and screaming. He and his guards roared to the limousine parked in front of the VIP lounge. He jumps into the limousine by himself with a couple of his security people. The escort had no idea what’s going on. The motorcycle policemen were befuddled, but when Jackson stood up in the sun roof and started to wave, the crowd surged forward screaming, they start to form up.

That afternoon there was an event at his hotel and the President’s daughter was also supposed to be there and kids from the President’s family. My older boy was on the stage with an international children’s choir performing for Jackson. The people in Jackson’s party were almost as bizarre as Michael himself. They described him as a “gift from God” and they virtually worshipped him.

For his second day in country, Ali Bongo had arranged a trip to several cities in the interior. I asked the PAO [Public Affairs Officer] to accompany the party and offer to interpret and to provide advice. They were given an Air Gabon plane to take them up to Oyem in the north, and then down to Franceville. In Oyem, the people thought Jackson would perform, but he had no intention of performing. His trip was being videotaped to work into a possible music video.

In Oyem, when they found out he wasn’t going to perform, they went ballistic. They charged across the big public square and his people panicked. He left immediately for Franceville. This was considered to be Bongo’s hometown, it had more amenities than you could expect to find in the African bush. The plane returned to Libreville and Jackson and party are stranded. The people in Jackson’s entourage went into panic mode. The people around Jackson were just unreal; it was like some sort of a cult. All efforts to obtain a replacement aircraft failed.

There is a luxury hotel in Franceville that is seldom more than 10 percent full. On this, his last day in Gabon, there was to be a presidential presentation of a medal, something like the Order of the African Elephant [actually the Medal of Honor.] I was asked to attend, and while awaiting the festivities, I was in the waiting room when Michael Jackson arrived. The President’s son introduced us and I was amazed at how little presence this mega-star exhibited. His handshake was limp and spoke in a mumble. I said, “It’s not going to happen. Inevitably the chimp’s mother had been killed by poachers and it would cling to anyone. Someone took the chimp from Michael before he was ushered into the President’s office.

Jackson’s PR people wanted to videotape the whole ceremony. I went in before him and was part of the furniture. Of course Michael and his people didn’t speak any French, and had no idea what’s being said. Bongo said to his son, “Now, tell me again, who is this guy? Why am I giving him a medal? Bongo was completely bemused.

When Michael Jackson entered, the lights went on, and pictures were taken, hands shaken and finally the pinning on of the medal. In any such event, after the presentation, the lights go down and the two principals usually sit down and have an exchange of words. Michael had almost nothing to say. The President thought, well, okay, I guess this is finished. He essentially dismissed Michael Jackson, the lights go back on and Michael Jackson leaves the President’s office.

His managers had set it up a photo op those who had missed the chance previously. All I wanted was for Jackson and his people to leave; his flight was at 2:30. They asked me if I wouldn’t like to have my picture taken with Michael Jackson. I demurred, while for half an hour they ran from one side of the room to the other taking photos with various family members on a banquet with Jackson. Finally he and his party departed for the airport and he was gone.

Overall, his visit to Gabon did not redound well for Ali Bongo and his father. The opposition, who now had their own newspapers, asked, “Who is this guy Michael Jackson? They criticized Michael Jackson for not performing. Jackson’s affectation of keeping his hand in front of his face, which I assumed was a symptom of shyness, was seized upon as a sign that he didn’t like the smell of Africa. The African press reamed him over the implication that he couldn’t stand the smell of Africa. It was unfair, but the trip proved to be a disaster and he curtailed the rest of his trip. He was going to go onto Egypt but the trip just fell apart.

Michael Jackson with Omar Bongo

"We Are the World" and African Relief

"We Are the World" is a charity single recorded by the supergroup USA for Africa in 1985. It was written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie and produced by Quincy Jones for the album We Are the World, meant to raise money for the 1983-1985 famine in Ethiopia.

Soon after the British group Band Aid released "Do They Know It's Christmas?" in December 1984, musician and activist Harry Belafonte decided to create an American benefit single for African famine relief. Mega-agent Ken Kragen enlisted several musicians for the project. Jackson and Richie completed the writing the night before the first recording session, on January 28, 1985. The event brought together some of the era's best-known recording artists, including Bruce Springsteen, Cyndi Lauper, Paul Simon, Stevie Wonder, and Tina Turner.

"We Are the World" was released on March 7, 1985, as the first single from the album by Columbia Records. pop single in history. "We Are the World" was certified quadruple platinum, becoming the first single to be certified multi-platinum.

Jackson and Richie wrote "We Are the World"[8] at Hayvenhurst, the Jackson family home in Encino, California. They sought to write a song that would be easy to sing, memorable and anthemic. For a week, they spent every night working on lyrics and melodies in Jackson's bedroom.

Recording began on January 22, 1985, at Kenny Rogers' Lion Share Recording Studio on Beverly Boulevard in Los Angeles. The first day included Richie, Jackson, Wonder, and Jones, along with the session musicians Jones had hired to lay down the backing tracks: John "JR" Robinson on drums, Louis Johnson on bass, and pianist Greg Phillinganes. The three had first played together on "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough", produced by Jones for Jackson.

On March 7, 1985, "We Are the World" was released as a single, in both 7-inch and 12-inch formats.[33][34] The song was the only one released from the We Are the World album and became a chart success around the world. The single was also a commercial success: the initial shipment of 800,000 "We Are the World" records sold out within three days of release.[33] The record became the fastest-selling American pop single in history.[41]

"We Are the World" was recognized with several awards following its release. At the 1986 Grammy Awards, the song and its music video won four awards: Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal and Best Music Video, Short Form.[55] The music video was awarded two honors at the 1985 MTV Video Music Awards. It collected the awards for Best Group Video and Viewer's Choice.[56][57] People's Choice Awards recognized "We Are the World" with the Favorite New Song award in 1986.[55] In the same year, the American Music Awards named "We Are the World" "Song of the Year", and honored organizer Harry Belafonte with the Award of Appreciation.

"We Are the World" was promoted with a music video, a video cassette, and several other items made available to the public, including books, posters, shirts and buttons.[60][61] All proceeds from the sale of official USA for Africa merchandise went directly to the famine relief fund. All of the merchandise sold well; the video cassette-titled We Are the World: The Video Event-documented the making of the song, and became the ninth-best-selling video of 1985.

Four months after the release of "We Are the World", USA for Africa had taken in almost $10.8 million (equivalent to $31 million today).[70][71] The majority of the money came from record sales within the US.[70][71] Since its release, "We Are the World" has raised over $80 million (equivalent to $229 million today) for humanitarian causes.

One year after the release of "We Are the World", organizers noted that $44.5 million had been raised for USA for Africa's humanitarian fund. Ninety percent of the money was pledged to African relief, both long and short term. The long-term initiative included efforts in birth control and food production. The remaining 10 percent of funds was earmarked for domestic hunger and homeless programs in the US.

From the African fund, over 70 recovery and development projects were launched in seven African nations. Such projects included aid in agriculture, fishing, water management, manufacturing and reforestation.

We Are the World

I won't ever forget Michael Jackson because his contribution to the song We are the World had a very significant effect on my life. I am 50 now but 25 years ago I was living in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, which at that time was suffering from a long drought and famine. It was a terrible situation. Lots of people became sick and many more died. Around one million people in all were killed by the famine. In 1984 Michael Jackson, along with a number of other leading musicians, made the song We are the World to raise money for Africa. We received a lot of aid from the world and I was one of those who directly benefitted from it. The wheat flour that was distributed to the famine victims was different to the usual cereal we bought at the market. We baked a special bread from it. The local people named the bread after the great artist and it became known as Michael Bread. When you have been through such hard times you never forget events like this.

Later Visits and Recognition

Michael Jackson made his first trip to the continent as part of The Jackson 5. MJ's first trip to Africa was formative: he went on to spend time in Tunisia, Gabon, Cote d'Ivoire, Senegal, Tanzania, Egypt and South Africa, and in a May 1992 interview with Ebony Magazine, he described the continent as "home." Originally an "African Tour" the Motown brothers were billed to play Ghana, Zambia and Ethiopia but the trip was cut short. Instead, they remained in Senegal, making trips out of Dakar to Joal (a fishing village) and Goree Island (departure point for Africans captured and sold into slavery).

In the 1990s Michael Jackson made a series of high-profile visits to African countries as part of a non-performing tour which he took on the condition that he would be able to visit “orphanages, children's hospitals, churches, schools and playgrounds." Under the glare of the international press which concoted a variety of stories, he spent time in Gabon, Egypt, Tanzania and Cote d'Ivoire where he was crowned a king. In Gabon he was welcomed by people holding signs that read "Welcome Home Michael," while in Cote d'Ivoire he was crowned a prince of the Anyi people.

It's hard not to buss a smile at these pictures of two of the most adored public figures of the 1990s sharing a hug. Michael Jackson and Nelson Mandela had a lot of love for each other. In prepared remarks that were read at Jackson's funeral, Mandela described him as a "a close member of our family" and saluted the fact that Jackson had been able to "triumph over tragedy on so many occasions in his life". In 1999, standing beside South Africa's first black President, MJ said "I've had the time of my life here, I've had so much fun, I hate to leave.

Table: Michael Jackson's Key Visits to Africa

Year	Country	Purpose/Significance
1974	Senegal	First trip to Africa with The Jackson 5, visited Dakar, Joal, and Goree Island.
1992	Gabon	Received the Medal of Honor from President Omar Bongo.
1992	Ivory Coast	Enstooled as a traditional chief of the Agni people in Krinjabo.
1990s	Egypt, Tanzania	Visited orphanages, children's hospitals, churches, schools and playgrounds.
1999	South Africa	Met with President Nelson Mandela, expressed love for the country.