New pro-Russian group sets up in Côte d’Ivoire
Group members, like pro-Russian actor Kémi Séba’s CSO, have joined forces to promote anti-Western agenda from a unified platform.
Ivorian pan-African civil society organisations (CSOs), some of which have strong affiliations with Russia, have established an umbrella body to raise awareness of pan-Africanism among Ivorians.
This is the organisation’s official mission. However, most of its members have been flagged as anti-West and pro-Russian by CfA and other organisations doing similar work.
The organisation, Solidarité Panafricaniste Côte d’Ivoire (SOPA-CI), was launched on February 2024 in Cocody, Abidjan, in the wake of the rapidly growing anti-French narratives and pan-African sentiments in Francophone Africa. SOPA-CI’s emergence also follows military coups in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger. On 16 September 2023, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger formed the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) after they left the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). One of the reasons the countries gave for their exit was their rejection of Western control and neocolonialism.
The formation of SOPA-CI has granted its members a single, strong, and influential voice to leverage their assets, networks, and support bases to promote their anti-Western agenda more forcibly. SOPA-CI’s member CSOs are also leveraging their presence in other Francophone countries to mobilise more support for their anti-Western narratives outside Côte d’Ivoire.
Unlike the AES countries, the Ivorian government is perceived to have a pro-French stance, which is now coming under attack. In September 2021, Ivorian president Alassane Ouattara warned Mali against hiring Russian military companies such as the Wagner Group to provide military services, citing Wagner’s atrocities in countries such as the Central African Republic (CAR) and Syria, as well as in the Russian-occupied Donbas region of Ukraine. Ouattara’s comments came after Russia’s foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said Mali had requested help from Russian military companies. Ouattara has also held several conversations with French president Emmanuel Macron about the aftermath of the coup in Niger and the ‘rapid deterioration’ of the security situation in the Sahel.
By February 2024, Macron’s personal envoy for Africa, Jean-Marie Bockel, held talks with Ouattara in Abidjan about potential changes to the French military presence in Côte d’Ivoire. Bockel emphasised the need for a comprehensive restructuring, including a military presence, support for Ivorian military operations, intelligence sharing, and development initiatives.
On several occasions, Ouattara has expressed his vision for the country and the region, highlighting Côte d’Ivoire’s partnership with France in military and security matters and reflecting a mutual desire to address regional challenges through ongoing dialogue and cooperation.
This has not gone unnoticed, as SOPA-CI’s establishment coincided with a barrage of criticism against Ouattara, including allegations that he is a spy for Macron and does France’s bidding. Sources, including pro-Russian influencer Chris Yapi, have also labelled Ouattara as dictator who threatened to bomb the AES countries and his Nigerian counterpart, Bola Tinubu, as part of a bigger plan by France to destabilise AES states. The latter claim was amplified by eight Facebook pages on 25 January 2024 through posts that received 1,971 interactions. The accounts that amplified these claims are spread across Côte d’Ivoire, France, Niger, and Senegal.
This investigation digs deeper into SOPA-CI’s activities and maps the actors involved, analysing their connections with Russia.
SOPA-CI’s formation
SOPA-CI was launched in Cocody, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire on 24 February 2024. According to an article by Ivorian media outlet Afrik Soir on 27 February 2024, the organisation comprises pan-Africanist actors, movements, and organisations.
A day after the organisation was created, one of its promoters and now spokesperson, Ivorian activist Pulchérie Gbalet, posted a video on her personal YouTube account stating that SOPA-CI’s primary objective is to restore pan-Africanist fundamentals in Côte d’Ivoire. Gbalet also stated that SOPA-CI firmly supports the AES and its aims. So far, the video has been viewed 7,849 times and has generated at least 451 interactions.
SOPA-CI’s Facebook page was created on 26 February 2024 and has 288 followers. Its content largely focuses on updates about protests, community grievances, and the high cost of living in Côte d’Ivoire. The page also reposts a considerable amount of content directly from Gbalet’s posts and updates on regional issues, such as the Senegalese elections. The only international posts are focused on Russian news, such as the terrorist attack on 23 March 2024 in Moscow.
The page has been active for only a few months, but it has already been involved in coordinated amplification. It is a part of a cell of 15 Facebook pages that used the copy-paste technique to amplify a protest held in Niger on 20 March 2024 against the presence of US military forces in the country. According to the posts, protesters burned US flags while chanting anti-colonialist slogans. Another notable Facebook page involved in the coordinated amplification belongs to pro-Russian influencer Egountchi Benhazin. These protests followed an order by the Niger junta that US troops, who have been helping in Niger’s fight against jihadists, must leave the country. A spokesperson for the Nigerien junta government stated that ‘American presence in the territory of Niger is illegal.’ The US has since denied receiving a formal request for the withdrawal of its troops from Niger.
The posts received 1,559 interactions. Of the 15 pages involved in the coordinated amplification, six are run from Mali, two from Côte d’Ivoire, and one each from Burkina Faso, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, France, Germany, Haiti, and Italy. One account is run from an unknown country.
The creation of SOPA-CI and the flurry of activities it has been involved in coincide not only with the backlash against Ouattara, but also with vocal pro-Russian pan-Africanist influencer, Kémi Séba’s expanding his footprint to Côte d’Ivoire. A day after the organisation’s launch, an Ivorian Facebook page, run by a self-proclaimed investigative journalist, first mentioned Séba’s plans for Côte d’Ivoire on 25 February 2024 in a post headlined ‘Kémi Séba “settles” in Ivory Coast’. The page claimed that Séba is allegedly setting up in the country through SOPA-CI. However, the quotation marks around ‘settles’ point to the word being used figuratively.
But, based on reports, Séba has not set foot in Côte d’Ivoire since he was deported on 26 March 2019 for his anti-CFA Franc campaigns. This was ahead of his organisation’s meeting ‘against neocolonialism’ that was meant to take place on 31 March 2019. Among the themes set to be discussed was the anti-CFA Franc fight. In 2017, Séba was also deported from Senegal for his anti-CFA Franc campaigns.
Overtly pro-Russian CSOs
This section examines the member organisations that are part of SOPA-CI, their history, founding members, and connections with Russia. The organisations have previously been involved in campaigns together, such as in October 2023, when at least four of the five organisations were part of a joint declaration of pan-Africanists supporting Salif Keïta’s concert in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. This concert was indefinitely postponed because of the artist’s alleged proximity to the Bamako regime and his support for the arrest of Ivorian soldiers in Mali.
The five organisations that comprise SOPA-CI are listed below.
- Alternative Citoyenne Ivoirienne (ACI)
Ivorian human rights activist Gbalet is also the president of Alternative Citoyenne Ivoirienne (ACI). In August 2020 she was arrested for her calls for demonstrations against Ouattara’s election. She was released and placed under judicial control on 28 April 2021.
Less than two years later, she was arrested again on 22 February 2022 because of an ‘entente with agents of a foreign power likely to harm the military and diplomatic situation of Côte d’Ivoire’. This came after her trip to Mali, where she allegedly met CSOs and individuals close to the military junta about the arrest of 49 Ivorian soldiers who had been detained in Mali since 10 July 2022. She was released again on 03 February 2023.
Gbalet runs a Facebook page created on 23 September 2023, which has ~21,000 followers. Similarly, she runs a YouTube page with 8,950 subscribers and an X (formerly Twitter) account created in April 2019 with 584 followers. ACI’s Facebook page, which appears also to be run by Gbalet, has been dormant since September 2023. Recently, ACI ran an online counter-petition to say, ‘NO to an unconstitutional 4th term [for Ouattara] in the 2025 presidential election’. So far, this petition has been shared 203 times on public Facebook accounts, receiving 7,026 interactions and only 19 signatures, 0.06% of the total ACI target.
Gbalet is fairly active on social media and has also been posting on behalf of SOPA-CI, which was active even before it was officially inaugurated on 24 February 2024. On 05 February 2024, SOPA-CI released a statement supporting the AES countries’ exit from ECOWAS. This statement was posted on Gbalet’s personal Facebook account and has received 91 interactions so far.
2. Jeunesse Panafricaine Côte d’Ivoire (JEPA-CI)
This is a Pan-Africanist group based in Côte d’Ivoire. Danon Eric, an Ivorian youth allegedly leads it and also administers the organisation’s Facebook group.
3. Mouvement Citoyen Panafricain Sursaut Africain (SUAF)
This is an Ivorian movement launched on 14 May 2022. The organisation’s only online presence is a Facebook page, with little activity in the past two years.
4. Total Support for Vladimir Putin in Africa (SOTOVPOA)
This SOPA-CI member has a strong Russian affiliation. Ivorian writer Sylvain Takoué formed SOTOVPOA in October 2023. The organisation’s coverage areas are Côte d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso. Takoué also founded ChinAfrica International, a Côte d’Ivoire-based CSO focused on promoting cooperation between Côte d’Ivoire and China. Although SOTOVPOA has no social media accounts, its content is usually promoted on ChinAfrica International’s Facebook page.
In November 2023, Takoué published a book titled ‘War in Ukraine: Putin is not Evil’ to buttress SOTOVPOA’s strong pro-Russian link. Takoué has similarly published a book about the Chinese president, titled ‘Xi Jinping’s China: Reforming the world with BRICS, Africa, and Asia’.
SOTOVPOA’s activities are aligned with Russia’s interests, and the CSO has begun to gain support from the Russian government. On 15 November 2023, Takoué and other SOTOVPOA leaders met Russia’s ambassador to Côte d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso, Alexey Saltykov. Takoué told Saltykov about establishing SOTOVPOA and the upcoming Spassiba African Festival at the meeting. Spassiba means ‘thank you’ in Russian. The Spassiba African Festival took place in Ouagadougou, where the Russian embassy was resuming its activities after about three decades. According to Takoué, the December 2023 festival was an expression of Africa’s ‘full gratitude’ to Russia and its leader.
SOTOVPOA is also involved in the Vladimir Putin International Prize for Sovereignty, which was launched on 28 December 2023 at the Thomas Sankara Memorial in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. The actual awards ceremony is scheduled for November 2024 in Moscow, Russia. SOTOVPOA will pick African nominees from different fields, including politics, journalism, culture, and civil society.
Pro-Russian news sites that covered the prize launch included International Affairs, Sputnik Africa, RT International, Africa Initiative, RTVI, Vedomosti, Vesti, and Tass. The launch thus potentially reached an estimated audience of 130 million combined monthly visitors globally.
After the launch of the prize, pro-Russian Telegram channels, such as ‘Friends of Crimea — Friends of Russia’, ‘RT news’, ‘Colonelcassad’, and ‘WAGNER Z GROUP/Z PMC WAGNER’Z’ repeatedly referenced SOTOVPOA. The posts containing the SOTOVPOA reference were viewed more than 300,000 times.
The chairman of the award organising committee is Ivorian Mohammadi Sawadogo, who is also listed as the head of the SOTOVPOA organising committee.
In November 2022, Takoué’s ChinAfrica International similarly launched an awards scheme called the ‘Xi Jinping Prize’ in honour of the Chinese president. This award scheme also honoured Africans and people from other continents for their contributions to politics, diplomacy, literature, and education, among other fields.
5. URPANAF-CI
SOPA-CI member Urgences Panafricanistes Côte d’Ivoire (URPANAF CI), is the Ivorian chapter of Urgences Panafricanistes (URPANAF), a transnational CSO with a footprint across Francophone African countries. It was founded in December 2015 by Séba, one of the most vocal pro-Russian pan-Africanist influencers. On its website, the organisation boasts that it is popular for its battle against neocolonialism, particularly through its fight against the CFA Franc in Francophone Africa, spearheaded by its leader, Séba. This campaign led to Séba’s expulsion from Senegal and deportation from Côte d’Ivoire.
Through URPANAF-CI, Séba mobilises local support and organises pan-Africanist events in Côte d’Ivoire. One of the events was a debate conference for Ivorian youths at Rodin College, Côte d’Ivoire, on 15 October 2023. The debate, about regional integrations of African states, was held in honour of the late Burkinabé president Thomas Sankara. Similarly, the organisation’s leadership in Côte d’Ivoire was part of the 27 October 2023 joint declaration of pan-Africanists supporting Salif Keïta’s concert. Kéïta’s ‘Concert of African Solidarity’ was scheduled for 17 November 2023 in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, but its organisers postponed it until further notice after Ivorians criticised the artist for his alleged support for the arrest of 49 Ivorian soldiers in Mali in July 2022.
URPANAF-CI’s national coordinator is Coulibaly Kountigui.
While Kountigu coordinates the Ivorian URPANAF chapter, Hery Djehuty runs the umbrella URPANAF body. Djehuty, who is a close associate of Séba, is reported to be Ivorian. As well as coordinating URPANAF activities, Djehuty also travels with Séba on his anti-colonialist campaign trips. Djehuty was arrested in the company of Séba at Cotonou airport on 17 September 2023, but released a couple of hours later. After their release, Séba posted a video on Facebook, saying their arrest was orchestrated with French involvement. He argued that African governments collaborated with colonial masters to arrest their own citizens.
Séba’s strong ties with the Russian government are well known. His recent Russia-related activities include participating in the Multipolarity Forum in Moscow from 26 to 27 February 2024. Séba delivered a speech at the forum in which he accused the West of attacking traditions, identity, family, love, and the relationship between humans and nature. He stated that Africa, as a continent, rejects the ‘degradation’ imposed by the West. Afrique Média amplified Séba’s speech. It was viewed 6,423 times and generated 272 interactions on YouTube; on Facebook, it gained 814 views and 56 interactions. The International Russophile Movement organises the Multipolarity Forum, with support from the Russian ministry of foreign affairs and the Russian Kremlin. Similarly, in December 2023, Séba spoke at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) on the theme ‘The reason for coups d’état in French-speaking Africa in the 21st century’.
Séba’s anti-French stance is also well documented. On 28 February 2024, Séba claimed that the French government was planning to revoke his French citizenship in an interview with Russian state-owned media RT. Subsequently, on 29 February 2024, Séba posted on his Facebook page claiming that the French government was ‘overwhelmed’ by the inroads made by his anti-colonialist campaign, hence its efforts to revoke his citizenship. According to Séba, this move is geared towards restricting his ability to travel across Europe easily. At least 37 Facebook accounts used the copy-paste technique to amplify Séba’s post, receiving ~9,500 interactions.
Consequently, on 16 March 2024, Séba set his French passport on fire at a press conference in Paris, France. He also affirmed his African identity during the press conference, emphasising his anti-colonialism stance. He added that the French government’s threat of revoking his citizenship would not deter his fight for freedom. At least 29 Facebook pages used the copy-paste technique to amplify Séba’s burning of his French passport at the press conference. The posts received 1,912 interactions.
Prime target for Russian influence
The recent formation of SOPA-CI, an umbrella organisation housing several pro-Russian actors, provides evidence of a powerful emerging pro-Russian influence operation in Côte d’Ivoire.
That SOPA-CI members have a known presence in other Francophone countries points to a wider agenda aiming at issues that cut across these countries. This is in the aftermath of military coups in Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger and the formation of AES, both of which build on the increasing anti-French narratives in these countries.
The perception of Côte d’Ivoire as pro-French poses a challenge to pro-Russian entities as they seek to increase Russia’s popularity in the country, similar to how Russia has been presented as a better alternative to France in other Francophone West African countries. This pro-French stance amid countries increasingly aligning with Russia in the region could also make Côte d’Ivoire a prime target for Russian influence.
CfA will continue to monitor SOPA-CI, particularly as its growing influence may largely be dependent on or exploit Ivorians’ already existing pan-Africanist sentiments that pro-Russian actors like Séba have capitalised on in the past.
This report was co-written by CfA iLAB senior investigation manager Allan Cheboi, iLAB investigative data analyst Dorcas Solonka, and iLAB senior investigative data analyst Eliud Akwei, with additional research provided by iLAB investigative data analysts Moffin Njoroge and Vanessa Manessong. The report was reviewed and edited by CfA iLAB copy editor Theresa Mallinson, CfA iLAB insights manager Nicholas Ibekwe, and CfA iLAB managing editor Athandiwe Saba.
