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Published 17th April 2026

Vol 67 No 8

Burkina Faso

Propaganda swamps social media but Moscow fails to sway the juntas

Ibrahim Traoré, Assimi Goïta and Abdourahamane Tiani. Pic: @PresidenceMali
Ibrahim Traoré, Assimi Goïta and Abdourahamane Tiani. Pic: @PresidenceMali

Leaked memos reveal millions spent on pro-Russian online stories, but the documents’ claims to be directing policies in friendly states don’t check out

A cache of 75 secret Russian memos about the Kremlin’s propaganda offensive in Africa by the Wagner Group and its successor organisation, ‘The Company’, has exposed a vast disinformation campaign and ambitious plans to influence the military juntas in the Sahel, along with other African governments. Mostly written in 2024 and leaked in recent months, the documents reveal a continent-wide social media operation that spent significant sums persuading websites and journalists to spread disinformation about Russia’s war with Ukraine, French and United States policy in Africa, and a range of pro-Kremlin conspiracy theories.

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How Moscow wages social media war

Copyright © Africa Confidential 2026
Copyright © Africa Confidential 2026

Some 35 websites or media organisations published 700 stories at Russian instigation for fees ranging from $250 to $700 per article

The documents leaked from ‘The Company’, the inheritor of the Wagner Group’s network in Africa, itemise US$7.3 million spent on social media ‘influencers’ and journalists to promote the...

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Berlin raises €1.5bn for Sudan but fails to rein in its warlords

THREE YEARS OF WAR IN SUDAN: Efforts to broker a ceasefire have been sidelined by the US-Iran war. Copyright © Africa Confidential 2026
THREE YEARS OF WAR IN SUDAN: Efforts to broker a ceasefire have been sidelined by the US-Iran war. Copyright © Africa Confidential 2026

Three years into a war that has killed 150,000 people, the world's diplomats found it easier to write cheques than to name the Gulf states fuelling the fighting

More than 120 delegations met in Berlin on April 15 for an international conference marking three years of Sudan's civil war and raising pledges of over €1.5 billion...

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THE INSIDE VIEW

The cost of borrowing for African countries rose by a staggering 91% between 2020 and 2024, according to a report published on 15 April by the ONE Campaign. It says suggests that by 2024 African countries were paying 5.1% interest across all creditors, up from 2.7% in 2020. High interest rates, combined with collapsing aid inflows – official development assistance to slumped by about 25% in 2025 – have delivered a double blow to African public finances. Though debt sustainability wa...

The cost of borrowing for African countries rose by a staggering 91% between 2020 and 2024, according to a report published on 15 April by the ONE Campaign. It says suggests that by 2024 African countries were paying 5.1% interest across all creditors, up from 2.7% in 2020.

High interest rates, combined with collapsing aid inflows – official development assistance to slumped by about 25% in 2025 – have delivered a double blow to African public finances. Though debt sustainability was one of the Africa-focused items on the agenda at this week’s Spring Meetings of the World Bank and IMF, there is no quick fix.

The spike in interest rates is not limited to commercial borrowing. The cost of borrowing from the World Bank’s International Bank for Reconstruction and Development rose from 1.4% to 5.2%, while China’s lending rates increased from an average of 2.5% to 5.7% in 2024.

The rise also helps explain why Senegal, Nigeria and Angola have recently opted for derivative-linked loans rather than tapping the Eurobond market. Last month, Senegal defended its decision to use Total Return Swaps (TRS) to secure more than US$750 million in financing from the Africa Finance Corporation and First Abu Dhabi Bank, arguing that the 7% yield on offer was significantly better than the 11%  on offer on the Eurobond market. A handful of African countries have issued Eurobonds this year but more are likely to follow the derivatives route.

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Ruto’s RSF ties under scrutiny

Allegations over Kenya’s role in Sudan’s conflict – all denied by Nairobi – are straining relations with Khartoum

The detail in a United States Treasury Department sanctions list in February that Algoney Hamdan Dagalo Musa, the youngest brother of the Sudanese paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF)...

Doumbouya won’t bite on iron ore plan

A US-backed mining bid is stalling as environmental warnings and political hesitation in Conakry leave Ivanhoe Atlantic struggling for traction

The United States-registered Ivanhoe Atlantic, which aims to develop the Kon Kweni iron ore mine in southeast Guinea, has intensified its efforts to secure a mining permit after...

DA triumvirate bets on black votes to break its political ceiling

Geordin Hill-Lewis's election as Democratic Alliance leader at its biggest-ever congress gives the party a credible shot at winning the country's top cities

The second largest party in South Africa’s governing coalition, the Democratic Alliance (DA) has renewed its leadership at the biggest national conference in its history and set its...

A new axis emerges

Fresh evidence reveals covert military cooperation on Ethiopia’s western frontier, reshaping the dynamics of Sudan’s war

When Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in February, he raised questions about Ethiopia’s rumoured involvement in Sudan’s war and the alleged presence...

Atiku wants election help from Washington

The former Vice-President has hired US lobbyists to exploit the Trump’s administration’s enmity towards President Tinubu

Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has become the latest Nigerian politician to throw money at K-Street lobbyists, hiring Von Batten, Montague, York on a US$1.2 million retainer as he...

Debt time bomb blows open the Sonko-Faye pact

Dakar is paying the creditors but the political split between the president and the premier is widening

As Beijing has started to hold back vital funding, Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko faces intensifying pressure to reach an accommodation with the IMF. The open rift between the...

Abiy opts for a pause in Tigray – for now

Tadesse Werede’s extended mandate points to a fragile accommodation, with both sides managing pressure while holding off a renewed clash

With the mandate of Tigray’s interim administration expiring, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has opted to retain the existing leadership rather than push Tigrayan allies into authority. Federal authorities...

Hormuz crisis threatens Africa’s harvests

The continent may be a major fertiliser producer, but farmers still import more than 80% of what they use – leaving them highly exposed

Urea prices have almost doubled in a month, and with the World Bank reducing its growth forecasts, the United States-Israeli war with Iran is hitting African farmers at...

Pointers

The race for Francophonie chief heats up

With the deadline for nominations for Secretary-General of the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) just weeks away, the four contenders face six months of international lobbying before...

Africa pays the aid price

African countries are bearing the brunt of swingeing cuts to official development assistance, which fell to US$174.3 billion in 2024 – a 23% drop – according to data...

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