For the last couple of years, we have heard that the fastest growing religion in Sub-Saharan Africa has been Christianity.
The region is now a hotbed of insurgencies and other nefarious activities as once again the great powers are engaged in a scramble for resources or as some of the pan-Africanist describe it as “neo-colonialism”.
Here is an interesting question. What happens when an influence operation is undertaken by a Private Military Company working in concert with the Intelligence apparatus of the country where they are based in? This is not the basis of a television program on streaming media, nor is it a new novel either. This scenario is a covert operation playing out in Africa.
Several groups including All Eyes on Wagner recently compiled a report documenting such activities. Their findings indicate that following the death of founder of Wagner Evgeny Prigozhin Africa Politiology the influence arm of Wagner Group was cooperating with the SVR the Foreign Intelligence Service of the Russian Federation throughout the Global South to promote the interests of Moscow.
One of the interests of the Russians is the growth of the Russian Orthodox Church. Just this week it was announced that the ROC was granted a license to operate within the Republic of Congo (Congo-Brazzaville). The President of the country Denis Soussou-Ngueso has been a close ally of Moscow during his tenure. This action is not just an isolated incident.
The goal of the efforts by the SVR through Africa Politology is to shape perception that the Pope, the Catholic Church and other non-Orthodox groups are Western Agents working to destabilize Africa. In 2024 this tactic was used against American Missionaries operating in the Central African Republic.
There was a goal in this effort. It was to diminish the presence of the United States in the country. The tactic was simple. A small organization was co-opted for this purpose. The name was self-explanatory. It is known as the Committee of Initiatives for Control of the United States’ Actions in the Central African Republic (CICAUSAC). Not only did this group specifically target the Missionary Activity with claims such as:
“Sources close to the leaders of the “Committee for Initiatives to Monitor US Actions in the Central African Republic” have asserted that in certain provincial towns, American pastors are communicating with armed groups, assisting them, and providing crucial intelligence on the movements of the Central African Armed Forces (FACA), MINUSCA, and their Russian allies. For example, American pastors have been present in Yaloké for decades. With the complicity of American NGOs, they instigated riots that led to the destruction of a mosque and the looting of property belonging to the local Muslim community. This suggests that these American pastors, acting on behalf of the CIA, are encouraging Christians to attack Muslims in order to create an interreligious crisis. The goal of this sectarian crisis is to plunge the country into chaos in order to secure control of its natural resources”.
The American Missionaries would be accused of being intelligence agents as well
“Religion is one of the United States’ preferred methods for imposing its beliefs on other countries. To justify such actions, the United States disseminates its so-called democratic values and principles of liberty through pastors. In recent months, the number of American pastors visiting the Central African Republic has increased. Approximately 20 come each month. It appears that over the course of the year, more than 230 American pastors will travel to the CAR to promote American ideology, such as same-sex marriage, which has become fashionable in the United States and Europe and has been sanctioned by the Church”.
they were also protesting the entry of the American Private Military Company Bancroft into the country.
This is not the only circumstance when the Russian apparatus sought to dissuade non-Orthodox activity. These same tactics were used last month during the Papal Visit to Africa.
One month prior to the visit the Russian PR Machine cranked up. They had a specific focus on Cameroon. This is a country that Africa Corps has reportedly set up a base in Douala to assist with their operations in both CAR and Equatorial Guinea.
What tactics did they use? They used “the West is trying to destabilize another country”.
“The pontiff’s trip to Cameroon is also a stress test for local authorities. Any incident en route by Leo XIV could trigger a crackdown on the Cameroonian leadership by French elites and investors, already tired of the chaos in the once exemplary colony.”
The irony is that the Pontiff was hosting a Peace summit between the Angolophone Insurgents and the Cameroonian Government.
Caution needs to be exercised when we hear of any Missionary Activity being targeted now. They could be pawned in an intelligence operation.
