He had intended to return in the summer of 2016 in the final days of his premiership but the planned visit was abandoned when May took over his post.May has never visited sub-Saharan Africa. Her only previous trip to the continent was a visit to Tunisia in 2015 in the aftermath of the Sousse hotel terror attack.
Speaking ahead of her flight to South Africa on Sunday evening, May said: “Africa stands right on the cusp of playing a transformative role in the global economy” and that “a more prosperous, growing and trading Africa is in all of our interests”.
May will arrive in Cape Town on Tuesday for a bilateral meeting with the South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa.
She will then meet the Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja before flying to Nairobi for a bilateral with his Kenyan counterpart, Uhuru Kenyatta.It will be the first visit by a British Prime Minister to Kenya in 30 years.
