Some in Africa, including Egypt’s Sisi and Ethiopia’s Abiy, have welcomed the return of transactional politics by congratulating Trump’s victory.
By Carien du Plessis, Kanika Saigal, Nicholas Norbrook, Sheriff Bojang Jnr
The return of transactional politics is hailed by some in Africa, with Egypt’s Sisi and Ethiopia’s Abiy quick to send congratulations.
Are we back to the old days for Africa? For economist Charlie Robertson, “Africa will again be seen from Washington through the geopolitical prism—as we saw in the Cold War and 2017-19 with Trump… with China as the enemy, instead of Russia.”
Certainly, realpolitik has dominated the messages of congratulations issued by African heads of state. Those African leaders who have a vested interest in the Trump administration winning power have been quick to congratulate him, while human rights champions have been quieter.
Some have been explicit. Uganda’s Speaker Anita Among, under US Treasury sanctions for violent crackdowns on the opposition, says, “I want to assure members that no amount of intimidation can ever move me from where I am. Now that Donald Trump has won, the sanctions are gone.”
Some are less obvious. Egypt’s Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, for example, was quick to congratulate Trump; a $10m donation from the Egyptian government to the 2016 Trump campaign was investigated by the US, though no charges were ever laid.
“Egypt and the US have always presented a model of cooperation and succeeded together in achieving the common interests of the two friendly countries, which we look forward to continuing in these critical circumstances that the world is going through,” said Sisi in a statement early Wednesday.
Sisi had a frosty reception from the Joe Biden administration and was never invited to the Biden White House.
Great powers
Of the big African powers, Nigeria and South Africa have also congratulated Trump on his victory.
The South African president looks forward to “continuing the close and mutually beneficial partnership between our two nations across all domains of our cooperation.” In the global arena, Cyril Ramaphosa said: “South Africa looks forward to our presidency of the G20 in 2025, where we will work closely with the US who will succeed us in the G20 presidency in 2026.”
A source in the US embassy tells The Africa Report that Trump will attend the G20 meeting in South Africa in 2025.
Earlier, Clayson Monyela, South Africa’s head of public diplomacy, took to X to respond to a user’s assertion that Kamala Harris would be better for South Africa than Trump.
“Historically relations between South Africa and the US thrive under a Republican White House,” he wrote, adding that during Trump’s first term, he appointed a woman born in South Africa as the US Ambassador to South Africa. “She was brilliant and helped to enhance the strong and mutually beneficial ties between our two nations.”
Analysts worry that South Africa’s tough stance on Israel over Gaza, including dragging Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the International Criminal Court, might cause issues for Tshwane.
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu in a statement expressed “heartfelt” congratulations to the US president-elect, seeking to strengthen the ties between the two countries “amid the complex challenges and opportunities of the contemporary world”.
Tinubu said: “Together, we can foster economic cooperation, promote peace, and address global challenges that affect our citizens.”
He described Trump’s victory as a reflection of the trust and confidence the American people have placed in his leadership, adding: “Given his experience as the 45th president of the US from 2017 to 2021, his return to the White House as the 47th president will usher in an era of earnest, beneficial and reciprocal economic and development partnerships between Africa and the US.”
Kenya’s William Ruto has been slower to congratulate Trump than his impeached deputy Rigathi Gachagua, who congratulated the American leader for “one of the greatest political come-backs of our generation”. He wrote on X: “Your victory is clear proof that resilience and a never-say-die attitude will always TRUMP obstacles on the path to your destiny.”
The support that the Biden administration has given Ruto may well not be replicated by the Trump administration, insiders in the Ruto camp fear. US Ambassador to Kenya Meg Whitman was slow to condemn police brutality against young demonstrators in July.
President Ruto has since congratulated in a statement, celebrating the “longstanding partnership with the United States spanning over 60 years, grounded in our shared values of democracy, development, and mutual respect.”
The Horn, future hot spot?
Former Trump envoy to the Horn, J. Peter Pham, told The Africa Report that access to a coastline is “existential” for Ethiopia. Therefore, it was no surprise to see Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed among the first African leaders to congratulate Trump on his victory.
Ethiopia in early 2024 announced an MOU with Somaliland to build a naval base and operate port facilities.
Outraged at the snub to its territorial integrity, Somalia has since invited Egyptian military cooperation, significantly raising the temperature in an already volatile region.
A future Trump presidency would likely place a premium on what Pham calls ‘capable partners’. Somaliland, which will hold its tenth one-person, one-vote election on November 13, has managed “without much foreign aid,” says Pham, whereas Somalia “remains a basket case.”.
Somaliland President Muse Bihi Abdi also on Wednesday congratulated Trump on his US election victory. President Bihi expressed optimism about strengthening the Somaliland-US strategic partnership under Trump’s leadership. “Together, let’s work for the betterment of our people and to promote regional peace, stability, and prosperity on the Horn of Africa,” he said.
Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud was quick to send congratulations to Trump early Wednesday, hoping for continuing strong collaboration and partnership between Somalia and the US “to advance peace, security, and common prosperity for our two nations”.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Somaliland has been quick to congratulate Trump. It said: “The government of the breakaway region of Somaliland extends its warm congratulations to Trump, looking forward to strengthening strategic relations between Somaliland and the US under his leadership.”
During his first term, Trump withdrew US troops from Somalia, only for Biden to redeploy them. In a second Trump term, Pham believes, Trump “would likely revisit that decision”.
“Are there core US national interests that justify the risk of American treasure and, more importantly, lives? I’m not sure that’s the case in Somalia.”
Picking a side in Sudan?
Kholood Khair, the founding director at Confluence Advisory, a think-and-do-tank in Khartoum, says: “Essentially both General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (known as Hemeti) know that Trump is more likely than a Democrat to pick a side in Sudan’s war. And they are auditioning.”
Sure enough, both protagonists in the grinding civil war were quick off the blocks.
“I congratulate Donald Trump on his victory in the US presidential elections, wishing him success. I also look forward to developing relations between our two countries during his presidency for the benefit of both countries,” said Burhan, Sudan’s de facto ruler, in a statement.
Meanwhile, Hemeti, in a message on X, said: “I congratulate @realDonaldTrump on his victory in the US presidential elections and wish him success. We are also ready to cooperate with the new US administration in efforts aimed at achieving real peace in Sudan.”
Climate concerns
Trump’s victory raised climate concerns, which will have a bearing on the African continent, said Seychelles President Wavel Ramkalawan in Johannesburg on Wednesday. “I’m waiting to see what new policies will be enacted given that back when he was elected [the first time in 2016] the US left the Paris Agreement,” he said.
Ramkalawan is worried about the future of the multidimensional vulnerability index, which will help small island states gain access to concessional financing to survive the effects of climate change, adopted by the UN General Assembly in September.
He also said the future of COP29, to be held in Azerbaijan later this year, is uncertain. “There are a lot of questions that we have to ask, which puts us as a continent under the microscope,” he says.
Congratulatory messages from the rest of the continent
Across the continent, congratulatory messages from leaders to Trump have been pouring in. Here are some of the messages.
Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa congratulated Trump, saying, “The world needs more leaders who speak for the people.”
The DRC’s Félix Tshisekedi, whose controversial first-term victory was waved through by the first Trump administration, congratulated Trump “in the name of the Congolese people, for his great victory”, saying he was ready to work together.
