“General Powell was a gentleman and a soldier,” expressed Melvin Foote, president of the Constituency for Africa.  Foote, based in Washington, DC, also reminisced about Powell and his relationship with Africa on Nigeria’s Channels TV.

Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo described Powell in the (Nigerian) Daily Post as a “trusted colleague and comrade-in-arm, whose closeness as an African-American with the mother Africa assisted in the growth of the continent.”

Cameron Hudson, a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council's Africa Center, recalled to the Voice of America that Powell was the first U.S. official to declare genocide in the Sudanese region of Darfur and was deeply involved in the peace agreement ending Sudan's longest-running civil war, which paved the way for South Sudan independence.

The Africa Society, headed by Senegambian-American Pape Samb, released a statement upon his passing.  “Secretary Powell was a friend of The Africa Society and the African continent,” it said.

The Africa Society also outlined his African achievements including:

- instrumental in the first-ever step taken by countries in Central Africa to preserve the rainforests
- championed health initiatives for African populations, especially to help eradicate polio
-  supported conflict resolution in war-torn regions
- supported programs to strengthen economic development, food security, and educational opportunities.

The Washington, DC based group added, “Secretary Powell was an inspiring speaker at The Africa Society’s Teach Africa program held at the Department of State. He was respected around the world as a global change icon for positive change, reflective of the values and beliefs of The Africa Society. His passing is an immeasurable loss to our nation, the world, and to the African Diaspora.”

Despite the "blot" on his record regarding his support of the US invasion of Iraq, which he bravely and openly acknowleged," former Jamaican Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller called Powell, born in the US to Jamaican parents, a “son of Jamaica.” (Iraq also claimed to have had weapons of mass destruction.)

According to Jamaica’s Gleaner newspaper, “Jamaican elected and community leaders in the United States have described late former US Secretary of State Colin Powell as an icon and a man of excellence.”

“Like me, he was born and raised in New York to Jamaican immigrant parents and was a proud Jamaican American. Like me, he was born and raised in New York to Jamaican immigrant parents and was a proud Jamaican American,” said Congresswoman Yvette Clarke (D-NY).

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Kurdish City Mourns Colin Powell's Death

On National Heroes Day, Jamaicans at home and abroad pay their respects to ‘son of the soil,’ General Colin Powell

A memorial service Powell, will be held Fri, Nov. 5 at Washington National Cathedral.The service will be by invitation only.