Urges Cohesive Pan-African Effort to Safeguard Digital Independence Across the Continent
In a significant development, AFRINIC, the sole Regional Internet Registry for Africa, is currently embroiled in a severe legal and governance crisis. This situation, with far-reaching implications for Africa's digital sovereignty and Internet infrastructure, has prompted a coordinated response from African governments and regional organisations.
The crisis began in 2022, when AFRINIC faced institutional paralysis due to more than fifty lawsuits, primarily filed by Cloud Innovation Ltd., a Chinese-owned company registered in Seychelles. This legal onslaught led to the appointment of a court receiver to oversee AFRINIC’s operations in 2023 by the Mauritian judiciary.
The crux of the current situation unfolded on 9 July 2025, when Cloud Innovation petitioned the Supreme Court of Mauritius for AFRINIC's judicial liquidation. If executed, this move could jeopardise Africa's control over its IP address allocation framework and threaten the Internet ecosystem and broader foundations of digital sovereignty.
African ICT ministers and pan-African bodies such as Smart Africa and the African Telecommunications Union have convened high-level meetings to address the crisis. They issued a Ministerial Declaration emphasizing the urgent need to sustain AFRINIC’s operations and safeguard the continent’s Internet stability, highlighting AFRINIC’s critical role as the backbone of Africa’s Internet infrastructure and digital sovereignty.
However, the June 2025 board elections at AFRINIC, originally hoped to reset the organisation, were annulled due to alleged severe irregularities, including unauthorized proxy voting and breaches of membership protocols. These developments have further exacerbated institutional distrust and paralysis.
ICANN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, has publicly supported AFRINIC, asserting that IP address resources under AFRINIC's management are public trust assets not subject to liquidation.
Smart Africa, a Pan-African initiative, has expressed concern over the governance crisis affecting AFRINIC, citing the threat it poses to Africa's digital sovereignty, Internet infrastructure resilience, and standing in global Internet governance fora.
The organisation has taken several strategic actions in response to the crisis, including raising awareness, initiating diplomatic outreach, collaborating with the AFRINIC community, commissioning an Ad hoc Committee, and maintaining close collaboration with the Government of Mauritius.
The Government of Mauritius has taken measures to avert immediate liquidation, including invoking Section 230 of the Companies Act, appointing a judicial inspector, and temporarily suspending legal proceedings.
Smart Africa remains committed to protecting Africa's digital interests and ensuring a secure, sovereign, and future-proof Internet ecosystem for all Africans. The organisation reaffirms its commitment to service continuity and preservation of Africa's strategic control over its Internet infrastructure.
As the situation unfolds, the outcome of the court decision on AFRINIC's liquidation will directly impact Africa’s control over its Internet infrastructure and its position in global Internet governance.
- The current legal crisis surrounding AFRINIC, exacerbated by lawsuits from Cloud Innovation Ltd., has cast a shadow over Africa's control over its IP address allocation framework and the resilience of its Internet infrastructure, as highlighted by organisations like Smart Africa in their calls for action.
- Amidst the announced annulment of AFRINIC's board elections and allegations of irregularities, technology policies and politics have become intertwined, with Africa's digital sovereignty and standing in global Internet governance fora hanging in the balance, as evidenced by the high-level meetings convened by African ICT ministers and regional organisations such as Smart Africa.
