Pavel Prigozhin, the son and heir of the late Wagner Group founder, apparently has South Africa on his radar. In this interview with BizNews, SA-Russia expert Professor Irina Filatova says, “he's particularly interested in the political side of the affairs…the elections in South Africa, Namibia, Mozambique and Botswana.” And using private networks to manipulate social networks and influence public opinion is something his late father, Yevgeny, used to great effect in Africa. “So there's no doubt that if Wagner's companies, whether it is troll companies or military assistance or whatever, act in South Africa or Southern Africa, they would act in the interests of private interests of the company itself, and of course they would act in the interests of Russia. And many people think that interests of Russia are the same interests as South African interests,” Professor Filatova says. She points out that in almost every coup in West Africa, “there was somebody who was involved in that coup, who started in Russia or the USSR…was close to the Russian interests”. Meanwhile, Prigozhin Snr has gone from “traitor” to “hero” in Russia, and is being “venerated” again after his failed coup there. Professor Filatova describes his rise to power from hotdog salesman to military strongman, dissects the secret of his success in Africa, and updates current Russia-backed private military operations on the Continent where Western influence is waning fast.

Video production by Gift Chiumia and Rex George

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