Par Isabelle Labeyrie
While Russia engages in overt military conflict in Ukraine, it simultaneously wages a significant influence campaign across Africa. A prominent digital personality at the forefront of this effort is Kémi Séba, who has recently had his French citizenship revoked.
In Africa, Moscow strategically leverages the support of influential social media figures. Among these is Kémi Séba, a 42-year-old Beninese pan-Africanist activist widely recognized for his vehement anti-Western pronouncements. His French citizenship was officially rescinded by a decree published in France’s Journal officiel on Tuesday, July 9th, dated the preceding Monday.
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Though his name might not be universally familiar, Kémi Séba commands significant celebrity status throughout francophone Africa. His public gatherings attract thousands, he boasts over a million followers on Facebook, and his YouTube videos garner hundreds of thousands of views. Following the revocation, he recently tweeted: “No more French nationality, glory to God. I am liberated from this burden.” Kémi Séba, who previously led the “Tribu Ka,” a black supremacist and antisemitic group disbanded by French authorities in 2006 due to incitement to racial hatred, now portrays himself as a revolutionary figure for 21st-century Africa.
A digital luminary and influential speaker
Kémi Séba first appeared on the Kremlin’s radar approximately a decade ago when Vladimir Poutine tasked Evgueni Prigojine, the late head of the Wagner Group (who died on August 23, 2023), with establishing a strategic foothold in Africa. The Wagner Group expanded its presence across the African continent through mercenary operations, resource extraction, and the cultivation of pro-Russian influence networks. According to a 2023 investigation by the weekly publication Jeune Afrique, Evgueni Prigojine directly financed and orchestrated various initiatives undertaken by Kémi Séba.
Through his NGO, Urgence Panafricaines, Kémi Séba organizes numerous international conferences, drawing packed audiences from Brazil to Iran, and including Russia and Venezuela. He was notably invited to the Russia-Africa summit hosted by Vladimir Poutine in Saint-Pétersbourg. In France, in 2023, the president of the National Assembly’s Defense Committee accused him of acting as a “relay of Russian propaganda” and serving “a foreign power that fuels anti-French sentiment.”
His primary targets for criticism are Françafrique and the franc CFA, which he consistently labels a colonial currency. While denying any direct Russian influence, Kémi Séba systematically supports African nations that align with Moscow after disengaging from France. He has openly applauded military takeovers in countries like Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso. Just a few months ago, he declared, “Other countries will join this dynamic; we are working hard on it.”
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