In a sharply critical commentary, internet governance veteran Alice Munyua has raised alarm over what she calls a troubling double standard in how global internet governance rules are applied in Africa. Her concern centres on the increasing involvement of intergovernmental organisations—particularly Smart Africa—and the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) in efforts to reshape the governance of AFRINIC, Africa’s Regional Internet Registry.

Smart Africa, a coalition of 40 African governments, has proposed a new framework known as the Continental Africa Internet Governance Architecture (CAIGA). This initiative, Munyua argues, undermines long-standing multistakeholder principles by centralising control among governments. Key provisions include a paid membership structure, external drafting of AFRINIC’s bylaws, and mechanisms allowing political endorsement to override decisions made by AFRINIC’s own community.

ICANN’s role in the development of CAIGA, including funding and participation in working groups, is particularly contentious. Munyua contends that ICANN’s involvement lends institutional legitimacy to a process that bypasses community consultation—despite the organisation’s public claims of neutrality. The arrangement, she says, allows ICANN to benefit from association without accepting responsibility for the outcome.

At the heart of Munyua’s critique is a question of fairness: would similar governance interventions be accepted in Europe, North America, or Asia? If not, she warns, Africa is being held to a different—and lower—standard. That precedent, she adds, could erode the global foundation of bottom-up, technically governed internet institutions, replacing them with politically mediated models.

Rather than oppose African digital sovereignty, Munyua calls for its alignment with transparent, community-led processes. She stresses that legitimate governmental roles in infrastructure investment and policy coordination should not extend to direct control of technical governance.

If left unchecked, the CAIGA model may serve not as a blueprint for African digital empowerment, but as a case study in governance capture—one with global repercussions. ICANN, she concludes, must answer whether it supports this model for all regions, or only for Africa.