In Benin, Reckya Madougou accuses the authorities of having fabricated false telephone conversations to accuse him of terrorism. And this with the help of South African and Israeli intelligence services.
Are the South African and Israeli intelligence services involved in the arrests of opponents in Benin? This is in any case the accusation brought by Reckya Madougou, of the Democrats party, arrested by the Beninese police and accused of terrorism.
#RestoreOurDemocracy#InclusiveElectionsInBenin#StopFakeNews#FakeNewsChallenge pic.twitter.com/OczRpzNR6D
- Reckya MADOUGOU (@MadougouReckya) March 9, 2021
The one who hoped to run for the next Beninese presidential election against Patrice Talon affirms that the regime “called on Israeli and South African experts to clone (his) voice and (him) endorse audios with content to charged ". According to her, "false conversations" between her and a minister would serve as evidence for the prosecution.
The ubiquity of Israeli spy companies in Africa
A strong accusation. And that is based on a reality: many Israeli companies dominate the wiretapping market in sub-Saharan Africa. Benin, according to Reckya Madougou, is no exception. Among the best-known groups, NSO is indeed present in Africa, particularly in Kenya and Ivory Coast. Other private companies from the Hebrew State are also working on the rest of the continent, from Mer Group present in Congo, Guinea and Nigeria, through Elbit Systems, which works with Angolans and South Africans.
Collaboration between Israel and African countries is not new. Even though the Jewish state was slow to relaunch its diplomacy to sub-Saharan Africa, Israel's foreign intelligence services, the Mossad, continued to sell their services to a number of states which officially condemned Israel's policies towards the Palestinians.
In Benin, the Israeli who makes the link between Tel Aviv and Cotonou is also clearly identified. This is Didier Sabag. The Franco-Israeli runs the company Sapna Ltd. His favorite terrain: Guinea-Bissau, the Central African Republic and, therefore, Benin. Born in Morocco, the businessman also thrives in the Cherifian kingdom. Its role is simple: to put operators in Herzliya, the Israeli city that groups together private spy companies, in contact with African regimes.
Handpicked intermediaries
To establish itself on the continent, Israel therefore relies on intermediaries from the business world, but also on former diplomats, such as Gérard Araud, former French ambassador to the United States and to Israel. Israeli espionage is therefore thriving in Africa at an impressive rate. And Reckya Madougou knows what she is talking about: the Beninese woman was special advisor to the Togolese president, accused by NGOs of having contracted with Israeli spy companies, in particular with NSO which developed the Pegasus spyware.
On the surface, these exchanges between Israel and African countries are legal. First of all because companies established in Tel Aviv submit their software to the attribution of a license by the authorities of the Hebrew state, which then authorizes them to export their programs. But behind the stated will of African leaders to fight terrorism, this spyware is all too often used for political ends.