By Lindiwe Nkosazana Nomzamo
Opinion
Most people blame the United States, while others are suspicious of China when it comes to hunting the witch who plunders Africa’s resources.
However, there is a silent player and slow growing cancer that could be actually the worst culprit.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is slowly but surely emerging as another cancer which is ravaging many African states, yet nobody is talking about it.
The country has over 20 gold refiners and 7,000 gold traders, and it imports more than 1,000 tonnes of gold annually, with more than two-thirds of being mostly sourced from Africa.
Notably, the United Arab Emirates does not have any known gold mines.
The UAE achieves this by catalyzing conflicts in various African states, such as Sudan, Libya, and Chad.
There has always been a strong connection between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) also secretly backs rebel groups like the Cooperative for Development of the Congo (CODECO).
Also known as Coopérative pour le développement du Congo, translating into ’Cooperative for the development of Congo,’ CODECO is a loose association of various Lendu militia groups operating within the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
But CODECO started out disguising itself as a peaceful agricultural cooperative, before eventually transforming into an armed rebel movement, with many of its militias currently standing accused of massacres and war crimes by United Nations officials.
UAE is also alleged to be backing the March 23 rebel group by channeling support via Rwanda, enabling the rebel movement to be fighting against the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) government, with the intention of controlling the country’s mineral-rich regions.
Meanwhile, the UAE according to observers is trying to position itself as a friend of Africa.
This is a claim that has fooled some African leaders, including, reportedly, William Ruto, of Kenya, who is even believed to be facilitating the UAE’s nefarious activities in Sudan.
It is also worth noting that Sudan has filed a case against the UAE for genocidal crimes against the Masalit community in West Darfur.
In fact some UAE soldiers have even died in Sudan while fighting alongside the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Political analysts wonder why Africans cannot solve their problems locally and take steps to strengthen the African Union in a way that would enable the AU to punish countries like Uganda and Rwanda for interfering in the internal matters of DR Congo and South Sudan, or even Kenya for facilitating genocides in Sudan.
Other than gold, the UAE has been forcing or bribing its way to win major projects on the continent and recently also accused of smuggling live wildlife species from Africa, to replenish its Zoos and parks.
The UAE has been using all the necessary tools in its disposal as means to grow and extend roots in Africa, including piggybacking on religion.