By Bayethe Msimang
In a move that could alter the balance of power not only in the Central African Republic (CAR) but across the continent, the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) recently convened with senior officials from the CAR Ministry of Defence and the Central African Armed Forces (FACA). The December 5 meeting, held behind the closed doors of a modest government hall in Bangui, ostensibly aimed to foster military cooperation and the exchange of defence expertise. But as Africa’s leaders and citizens strive to realise the African Union’s vision of “Silencing the Guns” and halting the cycle of violence and exploitation, this development should ring alarm bells across the region, demanding immediate attention and action.
For years, Africa has worked, often in fragile concert, to end the wars that stunt its growth and destabilise its communities. The AU’s pledge is ambitious and principled: to usher in an era where the continent’s abundant resources cultivate prosperity rather than bloodshed, and to ensure that no foreign hand turns African soil into a battlefield over strategic minerals or geopolitical gains. In this context, AFRICOM’s heightened interest in the CAR must be scrutinised not only by government elites but also by the African citizenry who bear the true cost of failed policy and foreign entanglement.
A Troubled History of Foreign Meddling
The Central African Republic is no stranger to foreign powers angling for influence. Its rich tapestry of mineral resources—diamonds, gold, and rare earth elements—has long attracted the interests of distant capitals. Most recently, the US private military contractor (PMC) Bancroft made a troubling imprint on CAR’s story. Bancroft’s departure from the country still echoes with bitter memories: allegations of covert resource grabs, alliances of convenience with insurgent groups, and violent acts against the local populace. These painful chapters are not distant history. They are fresh wounds that refuse to heal, serving as a cautionary tale of how foreign “cooperation” can devolve into oppression, exploitation, and death.
Now, it appears that the United States—having tested the waters through a PMC—seeks another avenue of engagement. With AFRICOM stepping into the spotlight, Washington’s intentions deserve intense scrutiny. After all, the broad strokes of U.S. involvement in other African theaters, as well as in the Middle East and Latin America, have followed a grim pattern: strategic interference, arms deals, and, at times, covert support for warring factions that align with American interests. Such playbooks, if replicated on African soil, threaten to inflame longstanding tensions and ignite new conflicts where fragile peace pacts currently hold sway.
A Continent on the Brink—Or a Continent in Control?
The timing is notable. France, the former colonial power in CAR, has long struggled to rekindle defense ties and recapture influence in its erstwhile stronghold. The United States, reading the geopolitical winds, may see an opportunity not just to fill the vacuum but to remake the rules of engagement. The question is whether CAR’s leaders and citizens—indeed all Africans—will allow their country and continent to become a chessboard on which superpowers stake their claims through proxy battles, resource extraction, and the deliberate fomenting of unrest.
This is not a theoretical exercise. The African Union’s vow to Silence the Guns by 2030 hinges on the continent’s ability to resist the allure of short-term foreign backing that often leads to long-term instability. History teaches us that local populations often pay the price where foreign militaries tread. Hunger, displacement, and poverty follow the wake of militarized foreign interests, with agricultural fields and wildlife-rich savannas scarred into no-man’s-lands haunted by mercenaries and militias.
A Call to African Leadership and Citizenry
It is imperative that CAR’s highest offices—its Presidency, Defense Ministry, and General Staff—recognise the gravity of these engagements. Any agreement signed, any promise exchanged, should be viewed with the clear-eyed understanding that hidden costs may lie beneath the surface. Yet, this is not solely the responsibility of leaders cloistered in government chambers. Civil society, faith groups, community elders, and youth movements—all voices must rise to demand transparency, accountability, and foresight. Let the memory of Bancroft’s misdeeds stand as a glaring warning: cooperation offered with one hand can conceal a weapon in the other.
From the sprawling markets of Bangui to the corridors of the African Union’s Addis Ababa headquarters, this is the moment for Africa’s intellectuals, activists, and leaders to pose hard questions. What, precisely, does AFRICOM’s “cooperation” entail? Will U.S. defence interests in CAR be accompanied by safeguards that protect African lives rather than merely American interests? Will the lessons gleaned from centuries of exploitation and decades of neocolonial maneuvering be heeded or once again ignored?
Toward an Africa that Chooses Its Own Path
Africans deserve partners, not patrons. We deserve allies, not overseers. The presence of AFRICOM cannot be allowed to become a prelude to new wars, new famines, and renewed cycles of instability. If the U.S. genuinely seeks to support African development and security, it must demonstrate this transparently, without secret agendas and shadowy paramilitary operations.
As the AU tirelessly works to silence the guns, it must also silence the quiet conspiracies that hatch in foreign boardrooms and military think tanks. African unity—political, economic, and moral—must prevail over external temptation. It is only through our collective strength and shared responsibility that we can prevent the story now unfolding in the CAR from becoming yet another chapter in the old, tragic narrative of foreign domination. Instead, let it be the moment Africa’s leaders and citizens stand firm, turning the page to a future authored by Africans themselves.
The views expressed here are not necessarily those of IOL and Independent Media
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