While the reduced linkage disequilibrium (LD) characteristic of African populations was used to refine and fine map the original TCF7L2 genetic association1,2, genome-wide and/or high throughput studies of the genetics of T2D in Africa remain limited to a genome-wide linkage analysis3, and a large-scale replication study4, both from the Africa America Diabetes Mellitus (AADM) Study. Here, TCF7L2 is linked to type 2 diabetes mellitus.