- Cloud Innovation calls for ICP-2 to let an existing RIR take over AFRINIC’s duties.
- AFRINIC’s governance crisis threatens African-led internet policy and digital sovereignty.
A fight for institutional integrity
Africa’s regional internet registry, AFRINIC, has spiraled into a governance crisis, becoming emblematic of institutional breakdown. Legal paralysis, contested elections, and financial opacity have shaken faith in its leadership. Amid this chaos, Cloud Innovation emerged not as an opportunist but as a reluctant defender of integrity. Its leadership—led by Lu Heng—demanded legal clarity and fair process, ultimately filing a winding-up petition in Mauritius courts as the only viable path toward accountable, community-led governance.
Also read: Cloud Innovation supports ICANN’s move to derecognise AFRINIC, calls for successor to be immediately identified
Also read: ICANN’s quiet power grab: ICP-2 compliance document raises alarms amid AFRINIC crisis
Lessons from legal defeat and financial collapse
AFRINIC’s legal strategy deepened the crisis. Against Cloud Innovation, AFRINIC mounted over 50 lawsuits—most ultimately rejected by courts—resulting in freezing of AFRINIC’s own bank accounts. Such moves revealed not principled rule enforcement but defensive overreach, destroying financial stability and undermining regional trust. Cloud Innovation’s successful resistance has made clear that technical governance must be backed by sound legal reasoning, or institutions simply collapse under their own weight.
Guarding regional autonomy from global overreach
Cloud Innovation’s appeal to invoke ICP-2, allowing an existing RIR (not a brand-new registry) to assume AFRINIC’s responsibilities, preserves system continuity while respecting regional autonomy. Yet ICANN CEO Kurt Lindqvist’s release of a new compliance document expands ICANN’s authority to derecognise RIRs—triggering fears of centralized control. Cloud Innovation’s position thus becomes a regional stand for self-governance against creeping external influence.
Also read: ICANN, Cloud Innovation & the limits of legal mandates in Africa’s RIR
Also read: AFRINIC vs Cloud Innovation: Who has the upper hand legally?
A beacon for the broader internet ecosystem
This battle is about more than server rooms and IP blocks—it’s about the sustainability of a decentralized, multistakeholder internet. If AFRINIC crumbles without structural reform, or if global bodies assert overriding power, the shift could signal a retreat from bottom-up internet governance.
Cloud Innovation’s action is a stand for accountability, transparency, and African-led policy. Its significance extends beyond the registry, spotlighting how digital sovereignty around the world depends on principled defenders who risk institutional collapse to protect democratic governance.
