Secret meetings, fake documents, smear campaigns and paid local influencers. These were some of the tools that Russian agents used to conduct covert influence operations in Southern Africa during election campaigns between 2019 and 2025, seeking to manipulate political outcomes and keep pro-Moscow governments in power.
A network referred to as “The Company” ran operations that targeted Madagascar, Namibia and South Africa, according to The Continent, a pan-African digital newspaper based in South Africa.
“Russian operatives engineered narrative-change campaigns across Africa, paid for media coverage and drafted policies for governments,” The Continent wrote in its February 14 edition.
Made up of more than 60 influence agents formerly working with the infamous Russian mercenary outfit the Wagner Group, The Company was brought under the direct supervision of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, the SVR, after the death of Wagner Group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin.
In October 2025, The Continent received a trove of leaked data exposing a major Russian false information and influence network operating across Africa. It shared more than 1,400 pages with an international consortium of investigative journalists that included Forbidden Stories, All Eyes on Wagner and other organizations, which began publishing reports in February 2026.
The leaked documents detail operations from January to October 2024, revealing how Russia’s intelligence services restructured and expanded the Wagner influence network. Former Wagner operative Sergei Sergeyevich Klyukin led the network from an office in St. Petersburg, Russia.
In South Africa, documents show that Russians offered to help the African National Congress with local elections by discrediting opposition parties, including through paid online campaigns and fabricated content.
“In South Africa, during 2024 talks to form a government of national unity, Russian operatives targeted the Democratic Alliance, their internal reports claim,” The Continent wrote. “They argued that if DA members took key ministries such as foreign affairs or justice, it could harm Russia’s political and defence ties with South Africa.”
In Namibia, Russian agents from The Company used staged videos, fake letters and false claims about foreign backing to undermine the opposition ahead of elections in November 2024.
In Madagascar, The Company threw its support to presidential candidate Andry Rajoelina in 2018 after he “repeatedly confirmed his intention to move closer to the Russian Federation” once elected, according to leaked documents.
As president, Rajoelina distanced himself from the Kremlin after the war on Ukraine. Russian agents then explored ways to pressure him into closer alignment before considering false information campaigns to isolate him internationally.
In studying the leaked documents, the African Digital Democracy Observatory (ADDO), a coalition of investigative analysis and forensic research organizations, said they point to a deeper level of Russian involvement in African politics and elections than was previously known.
“It shows how disinformation and online networks can quietly shape public opinion during critical political moments,” ADDO wrote in a March 24 blog post. “It also shows how the use of local intermediaries makes these campaigns harder to trace and easier to blend into everyday political discourse.”
