Haus der Kulturen der Welt (HKW) and the Goethe-Institut London expressly distance themselves from the antisemitic and historical revisionist conspiracy theories expressed in the keynote address given by Dr Khanyisile Litchfield-Tshabalala at HKW on 25 January 2025. These statements are to be condemned in the strongest possible terms. We deeply regret that this derailment has occurred and apologize to all visitors and participants. 

Those statements are not only false but also deeply contradict the humanistic principles for which HKW and the Goethe-Institut London stand.

Dr Khanyisile Litchfield-Tshabalala was invited to give a lecture on the relationship between gender and cosmologies in the African context as part of Rising from the Ashes, a congress on restitution and reparation. It is unacceptable that the thematic framework was abandoned in this way.

Both HKW and the Goethe-Institut London have terminated their cooperation with Dr Litchfield-Tshabalala with immediate effect and rule out any future collaboration.

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Khanyisile Litchfield Tshabalala is the Chairperson of the African Parliamentary Network on Illicit Financial Flows (APNIFFT). She is also a facilitator, trainer, public speaker, writer, and consultant. Her expertise spans across illicit financial flows and tax, public debt, feminism (which she has defined as Afro-gender), decoloniality, African Spirituality and culture, precolonial African history, as well as activism for social and economic justice. Her academic credentials include Honours, Masters, and PhD degrees. Tshabalala is the First Female Admiral in the South African Navy and a former liberation combatant. Recent works include the book project Let Afrikan Spirituality Stand Up, and Be Counted (ongoing).

As of January 2025