Kenya, Zambia, And Côte D’ivoire Highlight New Challenges Of Intra-african Travel With High Costs And Strict Visa Rules

Published on September 15, 2025

Travelling wrong Africa has agelong been viewed arsenic a challenge, not only for visitors but besides for artists, entrepreneurs, and mundane citizens. Despite nan continent’s organization of 1.4 cardinal and nan promises of regional waste and acquisition blocs and eager infrastructure plans, nan dream of seamless intra-African travel remains distant. Instead, galore travellers face visa hurdles, exorbitant flight costs, and analyzable separator procedures, making moreover short journeys difficult and expensive.

The Experience of Coco Em

Kenyan DJ Coco Em, whose existent sanction is Emma Mbeke Nzioka, often spends arsenic overmuch clip readying her recreation crossed Africa arsenic she does curating her euphony sets. In November of past year, she was scheduled to execute successful Cape Verde, an archipelago disconnected nan seashore of West Africa. To get there, she had to return a way done Europe, arsenic nary nonstop African formation connections were available.

Armed pinch a valid one-year Schengen visa and a return summons booked pinch different airline, Coco Em was assured her travel would beryllium straightforward. However, astatine nan airport, she was unexpectedly stopped from boarding. Airline unit deemed her a imaginable formation consequence and demanded that she acquisition a return summons pinch nan aforesaid hose she was departing on. She questioned this requirement, asking wherever specified a norm was stated, but nary mentation was given. Instead, she was presented pinch an ultimatum: salary wrong 15 minutes aliases miss nan flight. Refusing to comply, she returned home, disappointment and disheartened.

This incident is not unsocial to Coco Em. Countless Africans look akin recreation complications, whether they are artists seeking capacity opportunities, businesspeople moving crossed borders, aliases families visiting relatives.

A System Burdened by Outdated Models

Coco Em has openly expressed vexation complete outdated movement restrictions that limit opportunities for Africans. She believes these policies harm section economies alternatively than protect them. People travelling for leisure aliases activity bring worth by spending money, sharing skills, and fostering connections. However, restrictive visa systems and inefficient processes proceed to discourage specified movement.

The African Union (AU) attempted to reside this rumor by introducing a continental passport successful July 2016, designed to let visa-free recreation crossed Africa. Unfortunately, this passport remains mostly symbolic, disposable only to AU officials and prime diplomats. Even salient figures specified as Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man, person struggled pinch visa access. In 2023, Dangote publically complained that while his British associates could participate definite countries pinch ease, he, contempt his wealthiness and status, still faced obstacles and lengthy debates complete his visa applications.

Limited Visa-Free Access

Currently, only a fistful of countries — Benin, Kenya, Seychelles, and nan Gambia — connection visa-free introduction to each African passport holders. Although location blocs beryllium to encourage freedom of movement, implementation is inconsistent.

On a caller travel to nan Gambia, it was observed that Senegalese and Gambian citizens were allowed to walk done borders without fees, while travellers from Nigeria and Sierra Leone were required to salary unrecorded amounts ranging from 1,000 to 2,000 CFA (£1.30 to £2.60). Such discrepancies item nan fragmented attack to separator management.

The High Cost of Travel

Financial challenges compound these bureaucratic barriers. Flight costs wrong Africa are notoriously high, often defying logic. For instance, a formation between Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire’s largest city, and Accra, nan superior of Ghana, takes only astir an hour. Yet, nan value for this short travel tin scope $500 (£368), nan aforesaid costs arsenic acold longer world flights.

In contrast, neighbouring countries specified arsenic Zambia and nan Democratic Republic of nan Congo stock a separator stretching 1,449 miles. Travellers crossing betwixt nan 2 nations are required to acquisition abstracted $50 (£36.80) visas for each side, efficaciously doubling costs.

Activist Joseph Kalimbwe from Zambia pointed retired different troubling dynamic: African migration officers often target chap Africans much strictly than they do overseas residents. In Lusaka, for example, Chinese and Indian expatriates are seldom subjected to nan aforesaid scrutiny that Africans from nations for illustration Burundi aliases nan DRC experience.

A Long-Standing Dream of Seamless Travel

Efforts to simplify African recreation day backmost decades. In 1998, ministers adopted the Yamoussoukro Decision, a landmark statement aimed astatine lowering hose summons prices and improving connectivity. However, astir 3 decades later, nan statement remains acold from afloat implementation. High airdrome taxes, constricted routes, and persistent visa challenges proceed to inhibit its goals.

Similarly, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) was launched successful 2021 pinch nan ambition of boosting waste and acquisition and facilitating nan free activity of equipment and people. While advancement has been made, afloat implementation has yet to beryllium achieved.

Slow Progress Toward Open Skies

The Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM), launched successful 2018, was built upon nan Yamoussoukro model and has been signed by much than 35 countries. Its nonsubjective is to afloat unfastened nan skies to participating nations, allowing airlines to run freely crossed borders. If successfully implemented, SAATM could importantly trim recreation costs and summation way availability.

However, advancement remains slow, pinch galore countries hesitant to relinquish power complete their nationalist airlines and airspace. As a result, African travellers proceed to look costly flights and constricted options.

The Human Impact

These recreation barriers are much than conscionable logistical inconveniences. For creatives for illustration Coco Em, they correspond missed opportunities. In 2019, she had to recreation through Saudi Arabia and Italy just to scope Tunisia for a performance. During that journey, she was moreover asked by hose labor to execute connected nan spot to beryllium her personality arsenic a DJ.

Her acquisition reflects nan mundane struggles of countless Africans whose master and individual aspirations are affected by restrictive systems.

Steps Toward Change

Despite these challenges, location are signs of hope. Some African governments are experimenting pinch caller visa policies to promote tourism and cross-border collaboration. The description of SAATM and different location initiatives offers a pathway toward greater connectivity and affordability.

Meanwhile, individuals are stepping up to create grassroots solutions. Coco Em founded Pass Pass, an inaugural dedicated to researching systemic recreation barriers and helping visa applicants navigate analyzable processes. Recently, Pass Pass collaborated with Unseen Nairobi, a abstraction for film, theatre, and dining, to launch Vuka Mpaka, meaning transverse nan separator successful Kiswahili. This programme connects Kenyan creatives pinch artists from different African nations, fostering taste speech and collaboration.

Building a Future of Seamless Travel

Coco Em has shifted her attraction from vexation to problem-solving. While venting astir challenges whitethorn bring impermanent relief, she believes semipermanent alteration will only travel done corporate action and innovative thinking.

The dream of seamless intra-African recreation is still alive, though it remains distant. Through sustained argumentation reforms, investments successful infrastructure, and grassroots initiatives for illustration Pass Pass, location is dream that early generations will bask nan state of activity agelong promised but not yet afloat realised.

Final Thoughts

As Africa continues to turn economically and culturally, nan request for efficient, affordable, and accessible recreation wrong nan continent becomes much urgent. Outdated systems and costly barriers presently forestall millions from reaching their afloat potential.

By addressing visa complications, reducing formation costs, and fostering location cooperation, African nations tin unlock nan immense opportunities that seamless recreation would bring. Until then, stories for illustration Coco Em’s will proceed to bespeak nan struggles of navigating borders that stay much closed than open.