Africa is committed on the path of free movement of persons; the success of this process depends on its ownership by its member states, but above all on the dynamics within the African subregional and regional economic communities which constitute the pillars of the implementation of the African Economic Community. Examining governance and the challenges of free movement of persons within these communities provides a picture of the challenges facing the African Union in making effective the free movement of persons, the right of residence and establishment throughout the continent. These challenges are of various kinds, including those related to sovereignist assertions, socio-economic constraints, security concerns, overlapping economic communities, and extra-African migration cooperation. However, these challenges are not fatal, and this contribution opens up avenues for reflection on each of the challenges, as well as the African and global context that is emerging favorable, more than yesterday, to the establishment of free movement in Africa.