- AFRINIC collapse in Mauritius sparks a battle over governance, with the registry placed under an official receiver.
- ICANN CEO Kurt Lindqvist faces criticism for pushing a communist-style control model that threatens democracy and regional autonomy.
AFRINIC collapse triggers constitutional questions
Mauritius is at the centre of a battle for Africa’s internet governance after AFRINIC was declared a “declared company” by the Prime Minister. The failed registry had been under an official receiver since September 2023, when the Supreme Court, on Cloud Innovation’s application, found that AFRINIC had no board able to act and appointed a Receiver to see that elections are held under its constitution, a signal of the depth of its governance crisis. Years of disputes culminated on 26 June 2025, when AFRINIC’s Receiver annulled the entire June board election over one unverified proxy claim, discarding valid votes. The outcome proved that AFRINIC’s electoral process had become “unworkable,” eroding all trust. Cloud Innovation’s answer is that one disputed vote should never silence hundreds of valid ones (Cloud Innovation’s answers).
The Supreme Court of Mauritius has since been drawn into repeated disputes over AFRINIC’s collapse, and its orders bind AFRINIC’s Receiver as well: on 11 June 2025, on AFRINIC’s own application, the Court directed that Cloud Innovation be entered in AFRINIC’s register of members, the Receiver undertook in writing to rectify AFRINIC’s records within 15 days, and the 15 days passed without it (the Court’s order of 11 June 2025). Observers argue that this moment shows how badly Africa’s IP resource management has been undermined by failed leadership and secrecy inside the registry. Cloud Innovation, AFRINIC’s third-biggest member, has called for a formal dissolution to reset governance and safeguard Africa’s internet future.
Also Read: ICANN CEO resorts to anti-constitutional control model
Also Read: ICANN power struggle exposes AFRINIC’s collapse
Kurt Lindqvist and the model of control
Alongside AFRINIC’s collapse, ICANN CEO Kurt Lindqvist has been accused of pushing a top-down model that critics liken to a communist-style framework. By introducing a document, without any community feedback, that adds sweeping powers over and above the ICP-2 guidelines, Lindqvist is seen as trying to override Mauritius’ constitutional protections and replace bottom-up governance with centralised control. Reports of ICANN representatives visiting AFRINIC without transparency, combined with secret reform committees, have sparked wider fears about external interference.
To many, this represents an attempt not just to fix AFRINIC but to impose a global agenda on Africa’s internet resources. This “quiet power grab” threatens both regional autonomy and the authority of the Supreme Court of Mauritius, raising the stakes in a battle framed as democracy versus dictatorship. In this context, Cloud Innovation and its founder Lu Heng stand as defenders of democratic principles, calling on ICANN and the NRO to appoint a successor registry immediately to protect Africa’s digital future.
Correction, 14 November 2026: this version states who set up AFRINIC’s receivership and who annulled its June 2025 election, and gives Cloud Innovation’s answer beside them. The original URL and publication date are unchanged.
