Wagner's real return to Africa?

Evgueni Prigojine, the boss of Wagner, is currently in Africa to revive the activities of the Russian paramilitary group on the continent.

Wagner's boss, Evgueni Prigojine, had warned: after the mutiny of the Russian paramilitary group, who had put Putin under pressure, he intended to leave Ukraine and planned "a new path to Africa". Did Prigozhin, however, have the means to survive after challenging the Russian president?

The answer came from the Russia-Africa summit. A photo of Wagner's boss, alongside the CAR president's chief of protocol, Faustin-Archange Touadéra, was posted by Dmitri Sytyi, Wagner's operations officer in the CAR, on July 27. The message therefore seemed clear: Prigojine, present in Saint-Petersburg, does not seem to be worried by the Kremlin.

However, the tension between the paramilitary group and Putin must have persisted. And it is not for nothing that the boss of Wagner had warned that he now wanted to focus on his African activities. Besides Bangui, the Russian company is active in Libya, Sudan, Mali, but also in Burkina Faso. There is also talk of a presence in Zimbabwe and Guinea.

“Justice and Happiness for African Peoples”

Three weeks after the Russia-Africa summit, Evgueni Prigojine would have effectively returned to the continent. A new video indeed shows Putin's ex-"cook" in Africa. Without really knowing where. Prigozhin says in this video: “We are working. The temperature is 50 degrees. Just as we like it. The PMC (Private military company, editor's note) Wagner carries out reconnaissance and research activities and makes Russia even greater on all continents and in Africa, even more free”.

This message therefore seems to show, on the one hand, that Prigojine remains attached to Russia. But also that, beyond acting as a private military company (PMC), it has geopolitical aims. “Justice and happiness for the African peoples! We are the nightmare of Daesh, al-Qaeda and other bandits. We hire real heroes and continue to fulfill the tasks we have been assigned and promised to fulfill! », continues Prigozhin.

It now remains to be seen whether Prigojine is trying, alone, to impose himself in Africa by continuing his activities, to the detriment of the Russian Ministry of Defence. And thus to show Putin that he has both the necessary access and knowledge of the terrain. Or if he really acts under the leadership of the Kremlin.