Africa

1. Electricity access
2. South Africa’s new ministers
3. Protesters v Safaricom
4. Weaponizing AI
5. Mauritania decides

Also, South Africans win accolades at the BET Awards.

Welcome to Semafor Africa, where we know the tech gods giveth and taketh away. That much is clear from the forces driving African democracies. Kenya’s protests, in which activists opposed to tax rises first coalesced on TikTok and X, have evolved into broader anti-government demonstrations. This digital foundation matters. It means the movement has relatively large numbers but lacks leaders, making it hard for the government to negotiate a resolution.

With reports that 39 people have been killed in the protests, the use of phones to capture video and photographic evidence to support claims of extrajudicial killings could deepen the anger of activists, just as it did in Nigeria’s protests against an elite police unit a few years ago.

In this edition, a story about the alleged use of AI by supporters of President Paul Kagame to flood social media with campaign messages and undermine opponents points to a different use of technology. 

These are very different democracies and circumstances, but the growing impact of tech in African politics shouldn’t be underestimated.

🟡 We’re taking a short break, so you won’t find us in your inbox on Thursday. But follow us on WhatsApp for daily updates. The newsletter will be back on Sunday with our weekend edition.

Nigeria’s poor power supply

The share of Nigerians who say they have electricity that works “most or all of the time,” according to an Afrobarometer survey. Electricity companies in the country generated 18% more revenue between the first quarters of 2024 and 2023 even though electricity supply decreased 1.4% in the period, the National Bureau of Statistics said. In protests last month, labor unions demanded an increase to the $20 minimum monthly wage and asked the government to suspend the recent hike in electricity tariff.

South Africa’s coalition cabinet is set to be sworn in

CAPE TOWN — Ministers in South Africa’s new coalition government are set to be sworn in on Wednesday, days after President Cyril Ramaphosa finally appointed his cabinet.

The cabinet is made up of 32 ministers and includes six members from the Democratic Alliance, previously the official opposition.

Ramaphosa kept key ministries for his African National Congress, including finance and defense. It will see the return of the country’s Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana to the post, as the country navigates a struggling economy.

DA leader John Steenhuisen told Semafor Africa in an interview that he was “very excited” about his role as agriculture minister. He said there are opportunities around agriculture and agri processing to “create jobs and to contribute towards repairing the South African economy.”

It took two weeks for the ANC to negotiate a deal with the DA, to establish what they call a government of national unity. The agreement follows the ANC’s poor performance in May’s general election, when the party failed to secure a parliamentary majority for the first time since the end of apartheid 30 years ago.

The ANC and DA have been joined by nine other parties to form the coalition government.

Kenyan celebrities drop Safaricom over alleged protest censorship

Several Kenyan celebrities say they have ended partnerships with the country’s biggest telecom company Safaricom over claims it disrupted internet access during protests against planned tax hikes.

It comes as Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, was rocked by fresh protests on Tuesday. Activists rejected government calls for dialogue after President William Ruto dropped a controversial finance bill last week in the face of deadly clashes between demonstrators and security forces, in which dozens were killed.

The protests have morphed into broader calls to unseat Ruto and criticize his allies. More than 10 social media influencers and entertainment artists alleged Safaricom purposely thwarted social media communications on Tuesday night when Kenyan police fired live ammunition and used tear gas on hundreds of protesters.

Musicians also announced that they would pull down their work from Safaricom’s Skiza tune platform — the personalized ring back tone service for customers to entertain their callers and from which musicians earn 30% of the income.

Safaricom Chief Executive Peter Ndegwa apologized for last week’s network outage in a video posted on X, but denied the disruption was intentional. He said it was “caused by reduced bandwidth” on cables that carry internet traffic which affected the “whole industry.”

He also denied claims that the company shared citizens’ data with government authorities leading to alleged abductions of vocal social media activists.

— Muchira Gachenge in Nairobi

Rwandan government’s supporters ‘use AI to fight critics’ — report

Supporters of Rwandan President Paul Kagame have been accused of using artificial intelligence to attack his government’s critics ahead of the country’s election later this month.

A report published by Clemson University in the United States claimed a pro-Kigali network has used large language models (LLM), including ChatGPT, to mass-produce supportive messages on X. The researchers say the AI tools were used to reproduce messages but without using the same phrasing, reducing their chances of being detected by X, which forbids the use of LLMs on its platform.

The researchers analyzed 464 accounts responsible for posting 650,000 messages since the beginning of the year. They said the pro-government group was also responsible for crowding out messages that criticized the government.

Rwanda’s government has been accused of suppressing opposition, including supporting a ban on the candidacy of prominent opponents including Bernard Ntaganda and Victoire Ingabire, and fierce critic Diane Rwigara.

Kagame is hoping to secure a fourth term in the July 15 election.

Mauritania reelects Ghazouani but opponents cry foul

Mohamed Ould Ghazouani was reelected as Mauritania’s president on Sunday. He secured 56% of the vote, results from the nation’s electoral commission show. The vote hands Ghazouani, former army chief of staff and defense minister, a second five-year term.

The results are being disputed by opposition candidates, who have alleged irregularities in the process. Second-place candidate Biram Dah Abeid, an anti-slavery activist, called Ghazouani’s win an “electoral coup” and said he would not recognize the results. This is the second time that Ghazouani and Abeid have faced off at the polls, with Abied placing second in the election on both occasions.

The election marks the second peaceful transfer of power in Mauritania, which has historically been under military rule and faced repeated coup attempts. Data released by the electoral commission shows that about 55% of voters turned out to vote, a drop compared to the 2019 election. In 2019, Abied also alleged voting irregularities, prompting small protests.

— Jenna Moon

On July 1, Burundi celebrated its 62nd independence anniversary. In a statement marking the milestone, the US State Department said it looks forward to supporting “human rights and fundamental freedoms” ahead of the country’s parliamentary elections in 2025. Jean Bosco Barege is the Burundi ambassador to the United States.

Energy

🇳🇬 Nigeria’s new Dangote oil refinery has begun exporting diesel fuel to neighboring West African countries, as imports from the European Union and the UK slump to a four-year low, data shows.

Geopolitics

🇪🇹 🇸🇸 Ethiopia and South Sudan are collaborating on building a 220-kilometer (124-mile) cross-border road to link the two nations, at a cost of $738 million.

🇸🇴 🇪🇹 Turkey is leading mediation efforts between Somalia and Ethiopia over a port deal Addis Ababa signed with the breakaway region of Somaliland. Mogadishu has said the deal is illegal, sources told Reuters.

International Finance

🇬🇭 The International Monetary Fund on Friday approved the second review of Ghana’s economic reforms, authorizing the immediate release of an additional $360 million. It means Ghana has now received $1.56 billion of a $3 billion loan approved last year.

🇪🇬 European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced a $45 billion investment from European companies to help Egypt’s economy recover from economic shocks from the COVID-19 pandemic and high inflation.

Health

🇨🇮 Côte d’Ivoire received its first vaccines against malaria. The country will vaccinate 250,000 children aged between 0 and 23 months in 16 regions.

Aviation

🇺🇬 Uganda Airlines is set to spend $95 million this fiscal year for “supplies, services and works,” as it moves to create local jobs and hit a 700,000-passenger milestone at the end of 2024, its chief executive said.

South African artists were the continent’s big winners at the BET Awards on Sunday. Singer-songwriter Tyla won both the coveted Best New Artist and Best International Act awards. The win follows her success at the Grammys, where she walked away with the show’s first-ever award for Best African Music Performance. The singer Makhadzi scooped the Viewers’ Choice award for Best New International Act. The winning pair both combine elements of multiple genres with Amapiano, the sub-genre of house and Kwaito music they have helped to bring to global audiences. Amapiano songs hit 1.4 billion streams on Spotify last year and is on course to top 2 billion this year as its popularity grows.

• Biden is staying — or so the Trump campaign says.
• France’s Macron scrambles to build an alliance against the far right.
• Follow global elections, including this week’s vote in the UK and France.

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Happy 62nd Independence Day to the people of Burundi!! (July 1) 🇧🇮

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— Yinka, Alexis, Alexander Onukwue, Martin Siele, Muchira Gachenge, and Jenna Moon