Africa’s struggle with corruption and insecurity has deep roots in the collusion between political power and criminal networks. In nation after nation, from oil-rich Nigeria to resource-rich Congo, from South Africa’s metropolis to remote war-zones, elites have enriched themselves by allying with smugglers, traffickers and militias.
This investigation about the criminal nexus maps the shadow web linking African politicians, government officials and ruling-party figures to organized crime in Africa involved in narcotics, illegal mining, arms dealing, human trafficking and more.
In Nigeria, for example, one study found politicians repeatedly “hid under the cover of the [military]” to steal public funds. In South Africa, police chief Jackie “Jackie” Selebi was convicted of taking bribes from gangsters. And in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, state-embedded actors collude with illegal miners, costing the country nearly $1 billion a year in lost minerals.
This report, by the investigative team at Africa Observer and Jan Sena, draws on official documents, court records, insider testimonies and expert analyses to reveal how high-level figures profit from crime, and how ordinary Africans bear the cost.
We also compare Africa’s experience to similar crises elsewhere, from Latin American drug cartels to European mafia, underscoring that where elites and thugs join forces, democracy and the rule of law suffer.
Nigeria exemplifies the paradox of plenty and poverty. Chatham House reports that Nigeria is Africa’s fourth-largest economy but its per capita income remains among the lowest on the continent. Why does a country so rich in oil and natural resources see so little benefit for its people?
The answer lies largely in systemic graft and criminal racketeering at the top. A recent Chatham House study notes that the country’s “grand theft” by political elites is especially dominant. In practice, this means politicians and military officers often act as the masterminds of large-scale frauds and smuggling schemes.
Oil theft and military graft.
One illuminating case involves Nigeria’s oil revenues. Transparency International reported that for years political elites “hid under the cover of the [Nigerian] military to steal billions of dollars” from defense and petroleum budgets. Fake arms contracts and shell companies were used to siphon off funds, money that might otherwise have paid for roads and schools.
A Nigerian military spokesman flatly denied these charges, but experts say the secrecy around military spending in the fight against Boko Haram created ample cover for corrupt deals. Indeed, even Nigeria’s Anti-Corruption Agency notes that funds intended to beat back insurgents were instead laundered abroad – robbing soldiers on the ground of resources and fueling anger at the government.
Drug trafficking and political cover
Nigeria has also become a hub for drug transit from South America and Asia. Former U.S. prosecutors once accused a Nigerian tycoon-turned-politician of running a major heroin ring through Chicago. Buruji Kashamu, a senator in Nigeria, was indicted in the 1990s for heroin trafficking but continued his political career, winning election in 2015 while refusing to heed U.S. extradition.
Critics see this as evidence of “cronyism ahead of justice,” where politicians protect criminal allies. The consequence is clear: when traffickers gain politicians as allies, law enforcement becomes toothless. In May 2025, Nigeria’s President announced a committee to probe military and police collusion with criminals – a tacit admission that illicit networks have penetrated the security forces (the details are still unfolding).
Cult violence and kidnappings
Organized crime in Nigeria also includes gang cults and kidnapping rings, particularly in the oil-rich south. UN crime researchers report a surge in “cult-related violence,” with hundreds of deadly cult attacks annually. These cult gangs often extort oil companies and run illegal refineries, with some evidence that local officials turn a blind eye (or even take bribes) to let the operations continue.
While detailed public data is scant, victims’ stories suggest that police are often powerless or complicit in these local crime wars. In the Delta region, families of kidnapping victims say government officials sometimes negotiate ransoms on the criminals’ behalf – a hidden tax on ordinary citizens.
Human trafficking and corruption
Nigeria also faces a human-trafficking crisis. European law-enforcement officials have documented extensive Nigerian prostitution rings in Italy, where traffickers – sometimes backed by corrupt state actors – profit from sex slavery. One reporter noted Nigerian gangs in Italy forging “close relations with notorious mafia groups”, showing how corruption abroad can entangle state officials at home. Domestically, Nigeria’s anti-trafficking agency (NAPTIP) has been plagued by allegations of officials taking bribes to ignore smuggling networks.
A 2023 U.S. State Department report even highlighted “corruption involving trafficking crimes” among Nigerian officials. Communities on Nigeria’s coast report that traffickers bribe immigration and police officers to facilitate boat departures to Europe, making a mockery of migration laws. Victims and NGOs complain that prosecuting these crimes is nearly impossible when law-enforcement itself is under the influence of the very gangs it’s supposed to fight.
South Africa: When the Police Protect Criminals
In South Africa, Africa’s most industrialized economy, the picture is equally troubling. Years of high-profile scandals have shown that even well-established democracies can be haunted by state capture, where businesspersons, political patrons and crime bosses jointly loot the state. At the center of many scandals stands the ruling African National Congress (ANC) and its allies.
Selebi and gangland corruption
In 2006, National Police Commissioner Jackie Selebi was arrested and later convicted for bribery and corruption. As an official investigation found, Selebi “accepted bribes and was corrupted by South African and international organized crime syndicates”.
The bribes came from gangster Glen Agliotti and others, and were allegedly in exchange for protection from prosecution. Selebi’s case exposed the acute problem of police-politician-gang overlap. It was so explosive that, even after a 15-year sentence was handed down, Selebi served only 229 days in prison and was reportedly released on a medical parole that many observers saw as due to his political connections. This impunity sent a message: powerful figures escape justice, while ordinary citizens see murderers and drug lords walk free.
New corruption revelations
In 2025 the crisis spilled into public view when KZN Police Chief Lt. Gen. Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi detailed a criminal cartel allegedly “infiltrat[ing] law enforcement and intelligence structures”. In a bombshell media briefing, Mkhwanazi claimed a syndicate controlled by a drug cartel “involves politicians, law enforcement officials … prosecutors and the judiciary, as well as business people”. In effect, he asserted, at the highest levels of the ANC government there were officials sabotaging investigations, protecting fugitives and taking bribes.
The police minister was even accused of disbanding a unit investigating political assassinations under pressure from a murder suspect. President Cyril Ramaphosa responded by creating an official commission (Madlanga Commission) to investigate these claims, but critics worry it may become another blank wall. The allegations by Mkhwanazi, now under scrutiny, reflect long-rumored suspicions that South Africa’s drug-money and fraud schemes pay off the powerful.
Global criminal networks
South African cities are also transit points for international crime. The Port of Durban, for example, has seen seizures of multi-ton cocaine shipments meant for Europe. Smugglers allegedly enlist customs officials to overlook containers. Domestic crime groups such as the so-called “Guptas” (a wealthy family close to former President Zuma) have also been accused of fraud and illicit mining, though full accountability remains elusive.
Meanwhile, state institutions have been hollowed out by kleptocrats – leaders who openly use state power as a personal ATM. Journalists and civil-society groups like Open Secrets have exposed how banks and law firms act as “enablers” of such schemes. Despite many investigations (the Zondo Commission reports, parliamentary inquiries, etc.), the pace of prosecutions is slow, leading to public frustration. Even South Africans who opposed apartheid now lament that “freedom has become an empty word” when corruption steals budgets from schools and hospitals.
Congo and Central Africa: Minerals, Militias and Misrule
The DRC, Central Africa’s biggest country, is rich in minerals (cobalt, copper, gold, diamonds) but has been crippled by conflict and corruption. The legacy of decades of dictatorship has left only weak governance and powerful armed groups. In recent years, researchers have documented how illegal mining and smuggling networks are intertwined with both militias and state officials.
Cobalt smuggling
The DRC supplies over 70% of the world’s cobalt, a metal vital for batteries in electronics. But in 2024 the ISS Africa research lab found that large quantities of cobalt are being mined illegally and smuggled out of the country, aided by corrupt officials. In border regions with Zambia and Rwanda, poorly-paid police officers are known to take kickbacks: one report notes they “turn a blind eye for a kickback” to let smugglers pass.
Often illicit cobalt is moved through official routes by falsifying paperwork – a scheme “enabled and regularly committed by official omission or collusion”. These flows are lucrative: in 2023 DRC’s finance minister said the country lost about $1 billion a year in minerals smuggled to Rwanda alone. The traffickers range from small-scale militias to sophisticated syndicates; crucially, many are believed to have ties to senior officials who benefit financially.
Conflict-minerals and militias
Eastern DRC is torn by armed groups such as M23, FDLR and others. These groups often control mining areas and extort miners. In August 2025 the U.S. Treasury sanctioned one such militia, PARECO-FF, for “illegal mining operations and taxation schemes” in the Rubaya mining zone. A U.S. press release explains: minerals from conflict zones often “benefit armed groups, who raise funds by selling minerals and imposing illegal ‘taxation’ schemes, often in collusion with corrupt local officials”.
In other words, local rebel leaders, frontline soldiers, and complicit government agents all profit from the black-market trade in tin, tungsten, gold and coltan. These groups then use the cash to buy weapons – sometimes even off the very army they fight – creating a vicious cycle.
Illegal mining and land grabbing
Beyond minerals, other illicit resources fuel corruption. Wildlife traffickers, illegal loggers and charcoal burners thrive when officials collect payoffs rather than enforce laws. In one notorious case, UN investigators found that Congolese state mining companies exported gold worth $50 million a year, with a significant share going to top politicians’ wallets. Even DRC’s modest oil revenues have been vulnerable; a 2019 investigative report showed how oil licences were given to foreign firms linked to corrupt presidents, leaving Congo with negligible returns.
Neighbors affected.
Criminal networks don’t stop at borders. Congolese warlords have long ties to Angola, Rwanda and Uganda, both kinship and exile linkages and Congolese diamonds and timber are smuggled through Kinshasa and into global markets. Notably, Tanzania and Burundi (bordering DRC) have been identified as transit routes for smuggled cobalt and gold. In turn, Congolese militia have been accused of cooperating with businessmen in these neighbors to launder money from illegal mining. The region’s elites, in short, profit across frontiers.
Mozambique and Southern Africa: The Insurgency-Fuels Traffickers
In northern Mozambique (Cabo Delgado province), an ongoing insurgency has underscored how crime and elite complicity can plunge even relatively stable countries into chaos. The Islamist militants there claim to fight for political reasons, but their operations are financed in part by timber, gems and gas rents that circulate through networks of businessmen and officials.
A July 2024 report notes that locals often pay smugglers to transport their children as foreign fighters – with border officials taking bribes to let the fighters pass. Journalists have documented militants using illegal mines for rubies and precious minerals; the illicit output is rumored to be sold through front companies connected to ruling-party figures. The military, under-equipped and underpaid, has sometimes resorted to selling gasoline and food to sustain its operations – blurring lines between soldier and smuggler.
Nigeria and Ivory Coast: West African Transit Routes
West Africa is a corridor for cocaine from Latin America to Europe, and heroin from Asia to global markets. Countries like Ghana, Ivory Coast and Nigeria have become critical transit points. Investigators say West African ports and airports often see vast shipments of cocaine and heroin pass through, sometimes hidden in containers of palm oil or cocoa. Nigeria’s lax enforcement and corruption make it a major hub: police are known to release suspects for a bribe, allowing networks to operate openly.
Côte d’Ivoire’s diamond routes have similarly been tied to politicians. After years of civil war, it was revealed that leaders had granted shady diamond concessions to front companies, fueling personal fortunes. Meanwhile Benin – once a frontrunner in anti-trafficking – has backslid: in 2023 investigations exposed customs officials colluding with heroin smugglers, many of whom claimed ties to top officials. In each case, the pattern is clear: weak institutions + elite impunity = boom time for traffickers.
When Governments Team with Gangsters
Africa’s woes echo patterns seen elsewhere. Latin America offers stark parallels. In Colombia, Pablo Escobar famously parlayed drug wealth into political power. As one expert put it, Escobar’s tragedy shows what happens when “the line between political authority and organised crime becomes blurred”, with catastrophic results.
Escobar’s once-famed strategy of “plata o plomo” (bribe or bullet) is mirrored in African prisons and police stations where inmates offer cash or threaten judges. Similarly, in Mexico today, criminal cartels openly finance campaigns and infiltrate local governments. A recent investigation showed Mexican politicians involved in the kidnapping of a cartel boss, illustrating how politicians and traffickers can be entwined. The takeaway: once a political system allows any criminal grip at the top, it may lose control entirely.
European mafia analogies.
Italy’s experience is also instructive. Studies of the ‘Italian mafias today’ document how Cosa Nostra and ‘Ndrangheta syndicates use legitimate businesses and corrupt officials to dominate entire towns. In fact, the same research observes that mafia-style groups “infiltrate democratic systems” by posing as lawful entities while exploiting regulatory loopholes. South Africa’s ANC-era scandals have even been called a form of “state capture” akin to a slow-burning mafia takeover.
In the United States, history shows cycles where organized crime flourished under political complicity – a pattern where “individuals within state systems choose to prioritise their own interests over upholding the rule of law.” The lesson for Africa is that international drug networks and mafia-like outfits often simply transplant into weak states and find willing partners among officials.
Voices from the Ground and Expert Warnings
Journalists and activists across Africa cry foul. In South Africa’s townships, community leaders describe how criminal syndicates “supply poison to our communities”, blaming an “overbearing” drug trade and politicians who turn a blind eye. Prosecutors and NGOs warn that without reform, trust in government will vanish. Transparency advocates like anti-corruption crusader Peter Eigen remind Africans that “people can change a corrupt system” only through pressure and vigilance. Legal experts say new laws must target not just thieves, but the financiers and enablers – a task often ignored by current governments.
Experts on kleptocracy
The Global Investigative Journalism Network notes that many African states are effectively kleptocracies – governments where officials openly loot the treasury as a routine act of governance. In such regimes, the state coexists with a parallel criminal enterprise. One chapter warns: “political leaders in Africa have frequently used the powers of their office to enrich themselves, often through misappropriation, bribery, and fraud”.
These regimes recruit lawyers, accountants and bankers to launder funds overseas, creating an international network of ‘enablers’. Ghana’s and Nigeria’s year-on-year slide in corruption rankings (Transparency International, Afrobarometer) reflects this reality: the system is captured. Breaking that capture will require independent judiciaries and free media – something kleptocrats hate, as they have shown by attacking journalists and NGOs.
Conclusion
Africa’s crises of violence, poverty and governance cannot be solved so long as its rulers are entangled with crime. This investigation has documented a continent-spanning web of greed: from Nigerian legislators turned drug lords to Congolese warlords mining blood minerals, and South African generals taking gangster cash.
Where political elites make common cause with traffickers, the state’s authority collapses and ordinary citizens suffer. The comparative evidence is clear: every country that has allowed criminals into the corridors of power has seen democracy and public trust eroded. Only by enforcing laws impartially, prosecuting the powerful, and empowering watchdog institutions can Africa begin to reclaim control of its future.
As experts repeatedly emphasize, pressing accountability is urgent. “Control is maintained by using investments in public goods as bargaining chips while financing a militaristic force to enforce repression” i.e in other words, criminals buy immunity and arms. Africans cannot afford this sacrifice. The revelations here underscore the need for comprehensive action: international cooperation to trace illicit funds, reforms to expose hidden ownership, and fearless journalism to shine light on every payout and backroom deal. Only then can the continent turn the tide against the shadow economy that corrupts its top leadership.
Governments, law enforcement agencies, civil society and the public must demand accountability. We call on African leaders to open investigations into the links detailed in this report, to strengthen anti-corruption laws, and to cooperate across borders in tracking criminal networks. Citizens should support independent media and judicial reforms.
International partners should press for transparent contracting and help finance integrity watchdogs. Every African concerned about justice must raise their voice, demand prosecution of the elites who act as mob bosses, and insist on full transparency in government. The time for complacency has passed and only through sustained pressure and reform can Africa break the hold of its criminal-political nexus.
Citations And References
All citations in this investigation correspond to verified sources gathered during extensive research across multiple continents and databases. Full documentation available upon email to support the accuracy and verifiability of all claims made.
- Chatham House, “Corruption in Nigeria” (2025)
- BusinessDay Nigeria, “Corruption: Military faults Transparency International’s report” (2017)
- UNODC, “Organized Crime in Nigeria: A Threat Assessment” (2022)
- ILA Global Network, “From Hero to Zero: Why Leaders Fail – SA Police Case Study” (2021)
- The African, Dr. Rene Fourie, “Political Elite’s Flirtation with Organized Crime” (2025)
- Global Initiative, Siria Gastelum, “Don’t rock the boat” (2024)
- ISS Today, Oluwole Ojewale, “Rampant cobalt smuggling and corruption deny billions to DRC” (2024
- U.S. Treasury Department, “Sanctions Illegal Mining & Violence in DRC” (Aug 2025)
- GIJN Resource, “Guide to Organized Crime in Africa – Kleptocracies” (2023)
- Organized Crime Index, “Criminality in Mozambique” (2023)
- Washington Post, Kevin Sieff, “Meet the Nigerian senator…” (2015)
- Reuters, Tom Esslemont, “As Nigerian sex trafficking rises, Italy tracks crime kingpins” (2016)
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