On March 2, the UN General Assembly in New York was called to vote on a resolution calling on Russian troops to withdraw from Ukraine “immediately, completely and unconditionally.”
One hundred and forty-one of the 193 members of the UN voted in favor of the resolution – a strong signal of condemnation by the international community of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The vote, however, made clear the division of Africa on the issue.
While 28 of the 54 African countries sided with Ukraine, the rest, with the exception of Eritrea who voted against the resolution, either abstained or chose not to vote.
Cameroon, Ethiopia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Burkina Faso, Togo, Esvatini and Morocco were absent.
Algeria, Uganda, Burundi, Central African Republic, Mali, Senegal, Equatorial Guinea, Congo Brazzaville, Sudan, South Sudan, Madagascar, Mozambique, Angola, Namibia, Zimbabwe and South Africa.
On the wrong side of the story?
This has provoked strong criticism, especially from intellectuals, diplomats and opposition politicians in South Africa.
“Refusing to condemn this war puts South Africa on the wrong side of history,” said Herman Masaba of the newly formed opposition party ActionSA.
Mashaba says it’s obvious that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a “violation of international law” and accuses South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC) of refusing to sever ties with Russia, a historic ally.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has since defended his government’s decision to abstain from voting on the UN resolution.
In a statement issued Monday, Ramafosa said the resolution failed to emphasize the role of peaceful dialogue in ending the war, and that his country could not support it.
Angolan political scientist Olivio N’kilumbu says many in the ANC are still loyal to Russia.
“Some are of the opinion that the former liberation movement still owes the Russians many of the days of the Cold War and now we Africans must remain silent about the Russian invasion,” he told DW.
Russian propaganda aims to “revive the old ties between the Soviet Union and the liberation movements” in many African countries, including South Africa, he said.
Word battle on Twitter
An example of this is a tweet from the Russian embassy in South Africa, which thanked South Africans who had expressed solidarity with Russia in its fight against what was referred to as “Nazism in Ukraine.”
The German embassy in South Africa responded quickly with a his own tweet.
“Sorry, but we can not be silent about this, it is just very cynical. What Russia is doing in Ukraine is slaughtering innocent children, women and men, for its own benefit. It is certainly not a ‘fight against Nazism.’ Shame on anyone.” “It’s falling,” said the German response, which ended with a statement in parentheses: “Unfortunately, we are somewhat experts on Nazism.”
But Germany’s response has drawn some harsh criticism from South African Twitter users.
Some voiced Soviet support for South Africa’s apartheid liberation struggle, while others sided with Russia’s justification for invading Ukraine or were critical of Germany’s colonial history in South Africa.
One user writes: “Russia opposes only NATO’s advance on Ukrainian territory. The consequences of this expansion were clear and NATO decided to ignore them. This war was predictable and could have been avoided.”
Another user asks: “What did Germany do in Namibia?”
The historical connection of Africa with the Soviet Union
Political scientist N’Kilumbu says Russian propaganda is also directed at other African countries, especially in the south of the continent, whose liberation movements had political and military support from the former Soviet Union.
By abstaining from voting on the UN resolution on Ukraine, countries such as Angola, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Namibia had this “historic friendship” in mind, N’Kilumbu said.
“Especially in Angola and Mozambique, there has been virtually no political change since the Cold War. And that’s why the umbilical cord that connects these countries to Moscow has never been cut,” N’Kilumbu said.
The Angolan People’s Liberation Movement (MPLA), for example, continues to maintain close ties with Russia’s military, business and political elites, N’Kilumbu points out.
“At the military level, we still have Russian trainers. Our military academy is influenced by Russia,” he said.
Russian resources and weapons
In recent years, Russia has increasingly used these historic Soviet alliances to expand its political, economic, and, above all, military ties with African nations.
In 2019, Vladimir Putin hosted a Russia-Africa Summit attended by 43 African leaders.
Just a year later, Russia became Africa’s largest arms supplier.
According to a 2020 analysis by the SIPRI peace research institute, between 2016 and 2020, about 30% of all weapons exported to sub-Saharan Africa came from Russia.
This greatly overshadows arms supplies from other countries such as China (20%), France (9.5%) and the US (5.4%).
This has increased the volume of Russian arms shipments by 23% over the past five years.
Equipment of the Central African Republic
Nowhere on the continent has Russian influence developed as rapidly as in the Central African Republic (CAD).
Intensified cooperation between the two nations began in 2017, when Russia first delivered weapons, including Kalashnikovs and surface-to-air missiles, to the war-torn country.
Since then, Russia has gradually increased its presence in CAR.
In 2018, Russian military advisers were sent to CAR with the official goal of training the local armed forces.
Meanwhile, many Russian companies have obtained gold and diamond mining licenses in the country, and its president, Faustin-Archange Touadera, is now held by Russians.
His chief security adviser is Valery Sakharov, a former member of Russia’s FSB.
Given Moscow’s ties to the nation, it is not surprising that a pro-Russian demonstration took place in the capital Bangui on Saturday, says political scientist Olívio N’Kilumbu.
Protesters held placards with slogans such as “Russia, the car is with you” and “Russia save Donbass”, a reference to an area in eastern Ukraine where Russian-backed separatists have been fighting Ukrainian forces since 2014.
“Wagner is in Mali”
Russia has also expanded its presence in the wake of the Mali crisis.
Rumors have been circulating for months that Mali’s military leaders are relying on the support of Russian mercenaries, claims the junta has denied.
But the United States has repeatedly called on the Mali government to work with Moscow.
Africom, the US military’s chief of staff for Africa, said “hundreds” of Russian mercenaries were in the country.
“Wagner is in Mali,” Africom said in an interview with VOA in January, citing a shadowy Russian private military company linked to a close ally of Vladimir Putin.
Wagner mercenaries are also said to have fought in Mozambique, Sudan and CAR.
Political, historical and military dependencies
Guinean author and intellectual Tierno Monenembo believes that many African countries will never be liberated from Russian hands, especially given their growing dependence on Moscow’s military capability.
In this context, he said, the decision of 25 African states not to condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine is understandable.
“In such a situation, it is difficult for African nations to take a stand,” he said. “When you are young, when you are weak, if you are poorly armed and underdeveloped, you are not just involved in a conflict between military superpowers. This is the job of the big players.”
He added: “There is a Fulani proverb that says: ‘Chicken does not need to discuss the price of the knife. “Whoever has the knife is the one who will cut the chicken neck.”
This article was originally written in German.
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