box is open

Pandora papers: From Congo to Zimbabwe, the implicated African leaders

By Jaysim Hanspal

Premium badge Reserved for subscribers

Posted on October 7, 2021 12:08

Kenya Pandora Papers
Kenyans read the papers reporting a statement by President Uhuru Kenyatta following reports that he is among more than 330 current and former politicians identified as beneficiaries of secret financial accounts, in the low-income Kibera neighborhood of Nairobi, Kenya Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2021. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)

The Pandora Papers, the latest offshore leak investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), has implicated many African politicians – 49 to be exact – from Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta to Gabon’s President Ali Bongo. In this roundup, we focus on five current politicians with secret links to offshore companies, and the implications of these revelations.

Denis Sassou-Nguesso – President, Republic of Congo

Sassou-Nguesso seized power after a civil war in 1997 and has remained in control ever since.

The Papers show the president owned a company that controlled diamond mines. Like most powerful figures exposed in the investigation, the ICIJ shows the lengths that Sassou-Nguesso went to hide his involvement in the company. Inter African Investment was incorporated in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) in 1998, with an account at the London branch of Banque Espirito Santo.

Under its ownership was another BVI company, Ecoplan Finance Ltd. One of Sassou-Nguesso’s daughters, Julienne, served on Ecoplan’s board of directors. According to the ICIJ, Ecoplan owns the majority of shares in Escom Congo, a construction and real estate firm, which holds the rights to diamond mines in the country.

Diamond mining in Congo-Brazzaville has had its share of

There's more to this story

Get unlimited access to our exclusive journalism and features today. Our award-winning team of correspondents and editors report from over 54 African countries, from Cape Town to Cairo, from Abidjan to Abuja to Addis Ababa. Africa. Unlocked.

Subscribe Now

cancel anytime

More Politics

Nigeria’s minister of Finance, Wale Edun

liquid confidence

Premium badgeNigeria FinMin: ‘No ending oil subsidies without fixing naira’ Finance Minister Wale Edun speaks to The Africa Report about his mission to reassure investors about Nigeria’s commitment to economic reforms.
Tension is mounting between Assimi Goïta’s junta and the former Azawad rebellion (©Jeune Afrique montage: Malian presidency; Souleymane Ag Anara/AFP)

Broken agreement

Premium badgeMali: Why northern rebels have taken up arms… again In northern Mali, clashes have resumed between the army and former independence rebels.
Senegalese rapper Nitdoff. ©Nitdoff’s Facebook page

activist rapper

Nitdoff, Senegal’s rap legend, still in prison From Louga to Paris, imprisoned Senegalese hip-hop legend Nitdoff is a symbol of freedom of expression.
© Copy of film still, I Do Not come to You By Chance, with Blossom Chukwujekwu (L) and Paul Nnadiekwe (R) , directed by Ishaya Bako.

family saga

Film director Ishaya Bako adapts a modern Nigerian classic Few Nigerian novels have been as popular or as beloved as I Do Not Come to You by Chance and it receives a stellar film treatment by Ishaya Bako.