Who is Kémi Séba, a famous influencer in French-speaking Africa, accused of being a “relay of Russian propaganda”?

If Russia is waging a physical war in Ukraine, it is waging another in Africa, a war of influence. Kémi Séba, a social media star, is one of its relays. He has just been stripped of French nationality.

In Africa, Moscow can count on the support of social media stars. Among them, Kémi Séba, 42, a Beninese pan-Africanist activist known for his virulent anti-Western positions. He has just been stripped of French nationality by a decree published Tuesday July 9 in France in the Official Journaldated Monday.

His name may not be familiar to you, but in French-speaking Africa, Kémi Séba is a star. Thousands of people come to his meetings. He has more than a million subscribers on Facebook and his videos have hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube. He just tweeted this message: “No more French nationality, glory to God. I am freed from this burden”Convicted of inciting racial hatred, Kémi Séba was the leader of the Ka tribe, a black supremacist and anti-Semitic group dissolved by the French courts in 2006. He presents himself as a 21st century African revolutionary.

Kémi Séba was spotted by the Kremlin’s radar when Vladimir Putin tasked Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner group who died on August 23, 2023, with gaining a foothold in Africa 10 years ago. Wagner, which developed on the African continent through mercenaries, mining and the establishment of pro-Russian influence networks. According to the weekly young Africa, who dedicated an investigation to him in 2023, Evgueni Prigojine even directly financed and sponsored Kémi Séba’s actions.

With his NGO Urgence Panafricaines, he multiplies conferences abroad, from Brazil to Iran, via Russia and Venezuela, where his meetings are full. He was also invited to the Russia Africa summit organized in Saint Petersburg by Vladimir Putin. In France, he was accused in 2023 by the president of the Defense Committee of the National Assembly of being a “relay of Russian propaganda” and to serve “a foreign power that fuels anti-French sentiment.”

His main targets are Françafrique and the CFA franc, which he describes as a colonial currency. While claiming not to be under Russian influence, Kémi Séba systematically supports all African states that turn to Moscow after breaking with France.
Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, Kémi Séba applauds every coup d’état. “Other countries will join this dynamic, we are working hard on it”he declared again a few months ago.