• AFRINIC’s governance vacuum and contested ballots left the registry unable to function; a delayed September election produced a new board but did not erase legal and credibility disputes.
• Cloud Innovation has formally proposed winding up AFRINIC and invoking ICP-2 to designate a successor RIR; ICANN and the NRO have signalled they may act if governance failures persist.
A crippled registry and the race for legitimacy
AFRINIC’s paralysis has been years in the making: receivership, litigation and repeated election disruptions left the organisation without a properly constituted board since 2022 and stalled its core technical role of allocating IP resources across Africa. Cloud Innovation’s public filings and proposal frame the situation as an “irretrievable” governance failure after an earlier vote was annulled and other contested ballots undermined confidence; that same impasse preceded a delayed September election that, while announcing eight directors, has not ended the legal and community challenges surrounding the process.
Also read: AFRINIC claims ‘website not hacked’ amid election-period concerns
Also read: AFRINIC election: Voter fraud uncovered as ECom member threatens to resign
ICANN, ICP-2 and the real threat of derecognition
The wider governance architecture has reacted. ICANN’s formal correspondence placed AFRINIC on notice over alleged election irregularities and reminded the receiver and Mauritian authorities of the registry’s obligations under the Internet Coordination Policy (ICP-2). Those procedures spell out criteria and review mechanisms that can be used when an RIR appears unable to meet neutrality, transparency and community-support standards; the document is now central to debates over whether recognition should be suspended or duties transferred. The Number Resource Organization (NRO) and other RIR stakeholders have likewise called for clarity and adherence to standards while urging measured steps to preserve technical continuity.
Cloud Innovation’s legal route and the call to wind up AFRINIC
Cloud Innovation — which describes itself as one of AFRINIC’s largest members — has openly pursued a legal and political strategy that moves beyond internal reform: in July it filed for a court-managed wind-up of AFRINIC and proposed that ICANN and the NRO immediately trigger ICP-2 procedures to designate a successor RIR or expand an existing RIR’s remit to cover Africa. Its argument is framed as pragmatic continuity management — a way to avoid chaotic de-recognition by proactively arranging a handover — yet it also raises thorny questions about who decides African internet governance when regional trust has collapsed. The company’s petition and supporting rationale are publicly available.
What this means for Africa’s internet governance
There is no purely technical fix here: replacing an RIR or shifting coverage under ICP-2 would preserve address allocations and WHOIS continuity, but it would also reshape governance relationships, accountability mechanisms and regional ownership of internet policy. Observers from across Africa — including continental initiatives and community groups — have warned that outside interventions, however well-intentioned, risk weakening bottom-up governance unless the transition is transparent, consultative and accompanied by safeguards for African representation. At the same time, commentators have noted that Mauritius’ courts and political dynamics have become a decisive fault line in a dispute that now combines legal, regulatory and geopolitical elements. These layered realities mean the immediate technical work of allocations cannot be separated from the larger question of who legitimately governs Africa’s IP resources.
