ICANN’s role in AFRINIC elections faces scrutiny, claims of interference

• Memberships approved during AFRINIC’s board crisis may lack legal validity, compromising election integrity.
• IP address allocations made without court-appointed oversight face challenges, risking operational legitimacy.

Claims have emerged that ICANN’s interference in AFRINIC’s elections risks invalidating votes and IP allocations, threatening Africa’s internet stability.

The African Network Information Centre (AFRINIC), the organization responsible for managing Africa’s IP address allocations, is embroiled in a high-stakes governance crisis as it prepares for pivotal board elections in June 2025.

But a November 2024 court decision regarding new memberships of AFRINIC without the consent of the then Appointed Receiver, Vasoodaven Virasami, and new IP allocations, has raised alarms that interventions by ICANN risk undermining the legitimacy of the electoral process, and are even potentially in contempt of findings by the Supreme Court of Mauritius.

ICANN’s letter urging IP allocations

ICANN’s push for AFRINIC to resume IP address allocations and approve new memberships, despite an ongoing legal vacuum, came after years of instability, reputational damage and increasing legal problems within the RIR for Africa.

John Crain, ICANN’s Chief Technology Officer, wrote in the letter: “AFRINIC must return to its core function of allocating resources to meet the urgent needs of Africa’s growing digital economy.”

Critics argue this stance prioritizes operational expediency over legal due process.

BTW Media’s review of transcripts of the conversation between Virasami and the Supreme Court of Mauritius, show that the court ruled that memberships made after the date of Virasami’s appointment as Official Receiver (September 19,. 2023) should not come with voting rights.

The court stated: “All those who have been given memberships from September 19, 2023 to date, cannot be so because they should have sought your consent, which they failed to do. So neither are they considered as members. If they are not considered as members, they cannot have voting rights also.”

Did ICANN interfere in AFRINIC elections?

So was ICANN’s attempt to increase memberships and continue the allocations of IP addresses, while AFRINIC had no board and without the oversight of the Official Receiver, an affront to due process? Was it even potentially an act that put ICANN in contempt of the Supreme Court of Mauritius?

ICANN, responding to these claims, told BTW Media: “We believe that all parties should be acting to ensure that AFRINIC can continue to perform its obligations consistent with the policies adopted by its community for allocation of public resources and to the benefit of the membership it serves, and not be subject to capture by any individual party or company’s interest.”

Nevertheless, ICANN’s March 2025 letter to AFRINIC’s court-appointed receiver, Mr. Gowtamsingh Dabee, pressured the registry to resume IP address allocations prematurely. This move violated the Mauritian Supreme Court mandate requiring all major decisions, including membership approvals and IP allocations, to undergo scrutiny by the Official Receiver, Mr. Vasoodaven Virasami.

Key claims

In a 2021 press release, a key member of AFRINIC outlined its grievances with AFRINIC’s governance, stating:

• “AFRINIC’s actions endangered hundreds of millions of end-users… The Supreme Court of Mauritius granted interim relief to prevent AFRINIC from reclaiming our resources unlawfully.”
• “We consistently abide by AFRINIC’s policies but must protect our clients and users from irrational decisions.”

A 2025 communiqué from AFRINIC emphasized its intent to go ahead with the elections: “These elections aim to restore institutional integrity through unprecedented safeguards, including strict voter eligibility checks.”

A 2022 AFRINIC mailing list post noted: “AFRINIC’s board requires a quorum of five directors. Current legal disputes challenge the validity of appointments, creating operational paralysis.”

Timeline of AFRINIC’s governance crisis

• December 2019: Allegations arise that an AFRINIC employee misappropriated millions of IPv4 addresses, leading to the resignation of external auditors.
• March 2018: Sexual harassment and bullying complaints are made against senior AFRINIC officials, resulting in resignations and further reputational damage.
• June 2020: AFRINIC faces legal action from various parties over IP address disputes, highlighting governance and operational problems.
• October 2021: Legal proceedings start against AFRINIC concerning IP address allocations, adding to the organization’s legal woes.
• July 2021: A legal battle with Cloud Innovation Ltd leads to the freezing of AFRINIC’s bank accounts, severely impacting its operations.
• June 2022: An injunction is issued against AFRINIC’s board for attempting to extend a director’s term without an election.
• July 2022: Suspended CEO Eddy Kayihura files a lawsuit against AFRINIC.
• March 2025: ICANN CTO John Crain sends a letter to AFRINIC, urging to resume IP allocations amid election preparations.
• June 2025: Elections scheduled under court supervision to restore governance

Legal risk: Invalid memberships, IP allocations

AFRINIC’s bylaws mandate a quorum of five directors for board decisions. Between 2022 and 2025, the board operated below this number due to resignations and court injunctions. Memberships approved during this period lack legal validity because:

• Technical violation: Decisions by an inquorate board are non-binding under Mauritian corporate law.
• Precedent: A 2022 Supreme Court ruling nullified board actions taken without quorum, including membership approvals.
  If upheld, this could disqualify dozens of members from voting, skewing election outcomes.

The Mauritian Supreme Court appointed Mr. Vasoodaven Virasami as Official Receiver in September 2023 to oversee AFRINIC’s operations during its governance crisis. His role, among other things, was to ensure:

• Unauthorized actions: IP allocations made without the Receiver’s approval violate the court order.
• ICANN’s role: By urging AFRINIC to bypass the Receiver, ICANN risks enabling legally precarious allocations.
  These concerns echo a 2021 case where AFRINIC’s unilateral IP reclamations were blocked by courts.

AFRINIC’s role and history

AFRINIC was established in 2005 to manage IP address distribution for Africa, serving over 2,000 members, including telecoms and ISPs. Its governance issues began in 2019 with internal corruption scandals, leading to a freeze on IPv4 allocations and various legal battles. The 2025 elections hope to reset its direction, but lingering disputes over resource ownership and board legitimacy persist.

ICANN’s role and AFRINIC engagement

ICANN, the global coordinator of internet domain systems, nornmally takes a hands-off approach to Regional Internet Registries (RIRs) like AFRINIC. However, since 2022, ICANN has intensified its involvement in the RIR:

• Oversight: ICANN has publicly monitored AFRINIC’s legal battles to ensure compliance with global internet policies.
• Controversy: Critics argue ICANN’s 2025 letter oversteps its advisory role, potentially undermining judicial oversight.

The AFRINIC elections coming up in June 2025 are hoped to be the start of a new era in the RIR, putting its legal, operational and technical problems behind. The ongoing ICP-2 document revision also hopes to ensure the problems seen within AFRINIC don’t happen again. But these events show that even good intentions, such as those of ICANN’s interference in AFRINIC’s operations, need to come with clear legal and technical quality assurance, and are in line with the decisions handed down by the courts.