- AFRINIC now holds ‘declared company’ status, but this label cannot hide its collapse as a functioning registry.
- The governance crisis deepens, exposing AFRINIC’s structural failure and the growing urgency for a full regional reset.
Declared company, but failed registry
The Prime Minister of Mauritius recently designated AFRINIC, the internet registry for the continent, a “declared company”. This may appear procedural, but it marks a pivotal moment in the long-unfolding saga of AFRINIC’s mismanagement and corrupt functioning.
This designation confirms AFRINIC’s legal registration status and sets certain expectations around board accountability and legal compliance. However, far from signalling a governance turnaround, this move appears to be a last-ditch formalism by an institution that has lost operational credibility.
While AFRINIC technically retains authority over Africa’s IP address distribution, its effectiveness as a regional internet registry (RIR) has been hollowed out. The “declared” label does not change its inability to run fair elections, maintain a working board, or manage core functions without court intervention. Instead of reinforcing legitimacy, this shift underscores how far AFRINIC has drifted from the principles of bottom-up governance and member trust.
Also read: Did ICANN’s lawyer illegally visit AFRINIC when the Official Receiver was away?
Also read: AFRINIC designated a ‘declared company’ by Prime Minister of Mauritius
Corporate status won’t fix dysfunction
Years of governance paralysis, board resignations, and judicial receivership have rendered AFRINIC structurally broken. Being a declared company may align AFRINIC with Mauritian law, but it does nothing to fix the underlying rot: unworkable elections, internal deadlock, and the absence of leadership. Its June 2025 board election was annulled, not due to the invalidity of proxy votes, but over a single unresolved dispute—an outcome that discarded member input and intensified distrust.
The company status also does not change the fact that AFRINIC’s accountability mechanisms are defunct. The institution still lacks a fully functional board and day-to-day control remains under the hands of a court-appointed receiver. For members awaiting resource allocations, AFRINIC’s new label changes nothing about its inability to deliver on basic services. The gap between formal status and actual function has never been wider.
Also read: Cloud Innovation calls for AFRINIC wind-up after ‘impossible’ election standards
Also read: EXPOSED: The letter that reveals who was really benefitting from AFRINIC’s lawsuits
ICANN’s expanding role raises red flags
As AFRINIC falters, ICANN has taken a more visible and controversial stance. By issuing compliance warnings and suggesting reviews, ICANN is no longer behaving like a neutral steward of global internet policy. Critics argue that ICANN is overreaching—setting itself up to determine who governs African IP resources in defiance of regional autonomy. Its use of the ICP-2 compliance framework, developed without proper multistakeholder engagement, is viewed as a quiet mechanism to seize power.
This power shift has met resistance. Cloud Innovation Ltd., AFRINIC’s third-largest member, has formally demanded that AFRINIC be dissolved and a successor RIR be appointed. Their position highlights the consequences of ICANN’s ambiguity: by threatening derecognition while failing to install an alternative, ICANN has introduced further instability into Africa’s IP governance. AFRINIC’s “declared” status cannot resolve this institutional limbo.
Also read: Could a public audit save AFRINIC from collapse?
Also read: How AFRINIC’s board elections became a political battlefield
Trust is gone—what comes next?
AFRINIC’s declared company status cannot restore what years of failure have destroyed: trust, transparency, and regional legitimacy. Without elections, without leadership, and without consensus among members, the registry is no longer able to represent Africa’s interests in global internet governance. The procedural shift offers legal cover, not structural renewal.
The growing calls for AFRINIC’s dissolution are not ideological—they are responses to a failed system. Institutions like Cloud Innovation are pushing for a new registry to be installed, one that can manage IP allocations with transparency, accountability, and functionality. As ICANN continues to waver, it faces a choice: respect the principle of regional self-determination or deepen the crisis by prolonging AFRINIC’s hollow existence. The era of AFRINIC as a functioning registry is over. What follows must be built on clearer rules, better oversight, and stronger legitimacy.
