After the arrest of Kemi Seba in South Africa eight days ago, several extracts from the same telephone conversation leaked online, highlighting the critical positions of the pan-Africanist activist against the juntas of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) and Russia. The origin of the leaks is unknown to date, but the conversation was authenticated by the other interlocutor, singer Zaga Bambo.

Published on: 04/21/2026 - 6:32 p.m. Modified on: 04/22/2026 - 4:12 p.m.

Since the arrest of Kemi Seba in South Africa on April 13 for "alleged acts of facilitating illegal entry into Zimbabwe", several recordings of a recent telephone conversation involving the pan-Africanist activist have circulated widely online.

These different audios, from the same conversation and with a total duration of just under ten minutes, were relayed in the days following his arrest on several accounts on X and Tiktok, accumulating several hundred thousand views. They sparked a wave of reactions and questions regarding positions rarely taken by the president of the Pan-Africanist Emergency NGO.

“Now, being pan-African means becoming the atalaku of the AES”

Relations with members of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) or Russia: we can hear Kemi Seba giving an openly hostile speech towards the ruling juntas of the AES countries.

He thus criticizes the soldiers of these juntas for having used the Pan-Africanist struggle to “secure their position as president” and regrets the instrumentalization and “capture” of this movement by these powers. “Now, being pan-African means atalaku [praising, editor’s note] the AES. I’m not comfortable with that,” you can hear him say. Kemi Seba is also critical of the entourage of the head of the Nigerien junta Abdourahamane Tiani, to whom he has been special advisor since 2024, made up in his eyes of people only interested in "business and money".

For several years, Kemi Seba has been criticized for his proximity to Russia, an investigation by Jeune Afrique, Arte and Die Welt revealing in 2023 that Wagner had financed his NGO's operations to the tune of $440,000 between 2018 and 2019. However, he denigrates the Russian presence on African territory in these audios. "I don't give a damn about the Russians. [...] When I see people who celebrated Vladimir Putin's birthday in Burkina Faso today or yesterday, I want to cry. These are people who don't like black people", he adds, explaining that they "are not friends", nor "messiahs".

He believes, however, that Russia still helps to "contribute" to the "interests" of the anti-colonial struggle of the Pan-Africanist movement, affirming for example that it is currently working with the AES countries to destabilize the situation in Côte d'Ivoire. “I know that the AES and the Russians are helping to poison the atmosphere to weaken the regime of [Alassane] Ouattara [president of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire], it is a reality,” the activist can be heard saying.

These recordings also shed some light on the financing of his NGO Pan-Africanist Emergencies: Kemi Seba maintains, for example, that he charges opponents who seek to obtain contacts with his network in Russia or other countries. “Every person who wants contacts, Iranians, Hezbollah, Russians [...]: ok, you finance that in relation to the organization, and we will put you in contact”.

Read also: Sovereignist speech, support from Russia: why Kemi Seba is in the sights of the DGSI

A conversation from October 2025

Are these audios authentic? The origin of the leaks is still unknown to this day, but this telephone conversation did take place, as confirmed by the person we hear on the other end of the line, Zaga Bambo. This Togolese singer and activist, very critical online of Togolese President Faure Gnassingbé, explained on April 19 on his Facebook page the origin of this conversation, held according to him in "October 2025".

Saying he was "deeply affected by the arrest of Kemi Seba", Zaga Bambo nevertheless claimed to have never had "any link" with the pan-Africanist activist. The singer declares that he agreed to discuss with him after Kemi Seba contacted him, but to denounce his speech on Togo and tell him "that his support for the Faure Gnassingbé regime is in total contradiction with the pan-Africanist ideals that he claims."

For several months, the support of various pan-Africanist activists such as Nathalie Yamb or Franklin Nyamsi for Togolese President Faure Gnassingbé has aroused incomprehension among part of the opposition to the head of state, criticized since his retention in power via a major change to the Constitution in 2024.

The Observers editorial team was also able to confirm with the company specializing in voice biometrics and synthetic voice detection Whispeak that none of the different sounds broadcast online have been modified or generated by AI. Several factual elements of the conversation confirm that it probably took place in October, such as the mention of celebration in Burkina Faso of the birthday of Vladimir, born on October 7.

The investigative collective All Eyes on Wagner, which listed the audios in a compilation on X, also considers that several elements of the conversation agree with their information. “The details of the financial arrangement confirm the hypotheses we had regarding the key role of Urgences panafricainistes as a vehicle for receiving funds”, indicates the collective to the editorial staff of France 24.

As for the origin of the leak, Togolese activist Zaga Bambo claims not to have recorded the conversation, contrary to the accusations made against him online. Questioned by the editorial staff of France 24 Observers on April 17, the singer affirmed that the conversation lasted between 45 minutes and an hour and was held "on the Telegram application", on the phone of a loved one.

Had Kemi Seba himself recorded the conversation? Still in pre-trial detention in South Africa, neither Kemi Seba nor his organization Urgences panafricaines, contacted by our editorial staff, have yet reacted to these documents.

Pro-AES account misinformation

A few hours after the broadcast of these audios, these documents were used by accounts opposed to the pan-Africanist activist. Distributed by numerous anti-AES accounts on

Kemi Seba received this diplomatic passport from the Nigerien authorities in August 2024, a few days after being stripped of his French nationality by the French government.

But the document, which went viral, was in fact never published on the official communication channels of the Nigerien junta, on Facebook or X. It seemed credible despite several spelling errors because it used the same graphic charter as the CNSP.

On April 19, Juan Branco, one of Kemi Seba's lawyers, also released a document dated April 17 in which the Niger ambassador to South Africa indicates that Kemi Seba does hold a Nigerien diplomatic passport. A point also publicly confirmed by Nigerien Foreign Minister Bakary Yaou Sangaré to the media Voxafrica.

Given its circulation, the origin of the false CNSP press release suggests an anti-AES disinformation operation. According to our research, it was indeed originally shared by the Scoop Africa account. In March, the Observers editorial team and RFI's Info-Verif unit identified this account as one of the main actors in a disinformation network targeting the juntas in power within the AES.

Published at 4:03 p.m. on April 16 on Facebook by the Scoop Africa account, the press release was relayed two minutes later on X by the other central account in this disinformation network, La Dépêche Africaine, before being taken up online by other news accounts in the region.

Read alsoInvestigation: how a disinformation network is trying to destabilize the AES countries

Kemi Seba still in South Africa

Since December 2025 and the failed coup attempt in Benin, the Beninese activist has been prosecuted in Benin for "apology of crimes against state security and incitement to rebellion" after having broadcast a video in support of the putschists and hailing "the day of liberation" of Benin.

Targeted by a Beninese extradition request, Kemi Seba requested political asylum in South Africa, according to his lawyer. The pan-Africanist activist appeared in court in Pretoria on Monday April 20. He is accused along with his son and a South African national of violating immigration laws. The examination of their request for release on bail was postponed until April 29.

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