The American news agency "Associated Press" distributed the material Rodney Muhumuza, Mogomotsi Magome "Africa mostly quiet amid widespread condemnation of Russia" ("Africa as a whole remains calm amid widespread condemnation of Russia"), in which it is reported that Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni recently noted that Russia's special military operation in Ukraine should be considered in the context that Moscow is the "center of attraction" for Eastern Europe.
T-72B3 tanks of the Russian Armed Forces during the assault on Mariupol, 03/20/2022 (c) Alexander Ermolenko / Reuters
His son, Ugandan Lieutenant General Muhuzi Kainerugaba (Lt. Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba) was even sharper in the wording, saying that the majority of Africans "support Russia's position in Ukraine" and "Putin is absolutely right!".
Against the background of global condemnation of Russia, most of Africa either expresses its disagreement with him, or remains deliberately calm. Twenty-five out of 54 African countries abstained or did not register to vote on a UN General Assembly resolution earlier this month condemning Russia.
What is the reason? Many countries on the continent of 1.3 billion people have long-standing ties and support from Moscow, dating back to the Cold War, when the Soviet Union supported the anti-colonial struggle.
In recent years, these relations have been growing stronger: as US interest in Africa has obviously weakened under the administration of President Donald Trump, Russia, along with China, has expanded its influence, increasing its economic presence and including everything from agriculture to energy. In 2019, dignitaries from 43 African countries attended the Russia-Africa Summit; Russia has also become a leading arms exporter to sub-Saharan Africa, according to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
This dynamic has not gone unnoticed. Last month, the leaders of the European Union held a protracted summit in Brussels to discuss ways to counter the influence of Russia and China in Africa, while the military and political leadership of Western countries considers Russia's growing presence in Africa and the Middle East as a threat to the security of the West in the long term. China is also among the few countries showing support for Moscow.
There were exceptions to the wave of sympathy that swept Africa: Kenya and Ghana criticized Russia's actions. However, in other countries of the continent, they not only refrain from criticism, but also seem to extol their ties with Russia.
Amid the escalation of hostilities in Ukraine, the leaders of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) in the Republic of South Africa took part in an event hosted by the Russian Embassy in Cape Town on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the country and the Russian Federation.
The ANC has long-standing ties with the Kremlin, which date back to the Soviet Union's diplomatic and military support for its struggle against the apartheid regime, which the Western powers did not provide. Some South Africans also note that Russia was not among the colonizers of Africa.
South Africa's friendship with Russia "is rooted in the bonds of brotherhood," said lawmaker Floyd Shivambu, leader of South Africa's left-wing opposition party, the Economic Freedom Fighters. Shivambu said that Russia's actions in Ukraine are necessary to prevent the expansion of NATO.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said his country abstained from voting on a UN resolution condemning Russia's actions because it did not call for "meaningful interaction" with Moscow.
"We have seen how countries have been invaded for a long period of time, wars have been waged for many years, and this has led to destruction," Ramaphosa said, addressing lawmakers on Thursday criticizing the expansion of NATO in Eastern Europe. "And the leaders of a number of countries were killed. On our continent (in Libya) Muammar Gaddafi was killed."
He said that, in his opinion, Russia feels an "existential threat to the nation" from NATO.
Neighboring Zimbabwe also abstained from voting at the UN: earlier, this state itself almost became the object of UN sanctions for alleged human rights violations and corruption in the elections, but avoided them thanks to a veto imposed by Russia and China.
Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa praised Russia and China as "reliable support," pointing to their help in supplying weapons and training fighters in the war against the rule of the white minority in Rhodesia, which took place in the 1970s.
Russia has made large-scale investments in Zimbabwe's economy, including a multibillion-dollar joint mining venture in the Great Dyke area, where one of the world's largest platinum deposits is located. Russian capital is also involved in gold and diamond mining in Zimbabwe.
In Uganda, where Russian military specialists regularly assist in the maintenance of previously supplied weapons and military equipment, the country's authorities recently announced the signing of a contract with a Russian firm to install tracking devices in vehicles to combat crimes related to violence against the individual.
The representative of this East African country at the UN said that Uganda abstained from voting on the UN General Assembly resolution on Russia in order to protect its neutrality as the next chairman of the Non-Aligned Movement, a community of 120 states of the Cold War era, which includes almost all African states.
And Ugandan President Museveni went even further: he personally met with the Russian ambassador in the midst of the war in Ukraine. The Ugandan leader, who has been in power since 1986, criticized the "aggression of the West against Africa."
Museveni's government has clashed in recent months with the United States and other countries, which have expressed their concern over last year's elections in Uganda, the results of which were questioned, and growing accusations of human rights violations. Museveni also accused the West of interfering in internal affairs, including by exerting pressure to recognize the rights of sexual minorities (LGBTQ).
Columnist of the Ugandan newspaper "Daily Monitor" Nicholas Sengoba said that many authoritarian African leaders like Museveni are happy to see Putin "standing up to big uncles from the West."
After meeting with the Russian ambassador, Museveni called on Africans on Twitter to acknowledge the existence of what he called the "center of gravity", which, in his opinion, is Russia for the "Slavic peoples of Eastern Europe."
The post was later deleted by Museveni, but his son and commander of the Ugandan Infantry Forces, General Kainerugaba, was even more unequivocal in his remarks on social media.
"The majority of humanity (which is non-white) supports Russia's position on Ukraine," he tweeted on February 28. "Putin is absolutely right! When the USSR placed nuclear missiles in Cuba in 1962, the West was ready to blow up the whole world because of this. Now that NATO is doing the same, do they expect Russia to act differently?"
