Zimbabwe: Villager Killed at Chinese Mining Operation

 The Zimbabwe Mail published on 11 October 2025 an article titled "Mutoko Mine Killing Deepens Anger Over Chinese Abuses in Zimbabwe."

Zimbabwean authorities arrested a Chinese national for fatally shooting a Zimbabwean worker at a Chinese mining operation.  Chinese managers accused the Zimbabwean of taking part in a robbery.  Local villagers disputed the charge and claimed the mining company is exploiting workers and using violence with impunity.  

New Zimbabwe published on 14 October 2025 an article titled "China Urges Its Citizens to Adhere to Zimbabwe's Investment Laws after Fatal Mine Shooting."

Following the shooting incident, the Chinese embassy in Harare issued guidance to its nationals to strictly follow all Zimbabwe laws.  

Cameroon, Nigeria, China and Illegal Rosewood

 Africa Uncensored, an independent media house in Kenya, published in February 2022 an investigative report titled "Timber Logging and Crime: How Rosewood Is Stolen in Cameroon, Laundered in Nigeria, and Exported to China" by Christian Locka.

Cameroonian woodcutters illegally cut rare rosewood and then transport it to Nigeria for final shipment to China.  Strong Chinese demand has resulted in organized looting of rosewood forests in several African countries.

Tigrayan Civilian Detainees in Ethiopia Allege Widespread Extortion

 Aljazeera published on 10 February 2022 an article titled "Ethiopian Officials Accused of Extorting Tigrayan Detainees" by Samuel Gebre and Zecharias Zelalem.  

Aljazeera interviewed victims and relatives of Tigrayan civilians detained by federal authorities in the aftermath of conflict that began in November 2020.  The article claims there is widespread extortion of the detainees for everything from release from prison to access to clean water.  

Congo, Corruption, and China

 The Sentry published in November 2021 a study titled "The Backchannel: State Capture and Bribery in Congo's Deal of the Century."

DRC state enterprises used a middleman with accounts at the bank run by former President Kabila's brother to pump tens of millions of dollars into the pockets of the Kabila family, their associates, and businesses at crucial junctures in what are known as the Sicomines agreements.  Chinese corporations colluded with power plays in the DRC to secure access to billions of dollars' worth of natural resources.  

Chinese Company Labor Abuses in Nigeria

 Global Voices, which receives funding from numerous sources including the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, published on 22 September 2021 a report titled "Chinese Firms in Nigeria Face Widespread Labour Abuse Allegations, Tainting Bilateral Relationship" by Nwachukwu Egbunike.  

The report identifies two major categories of infractions by Chinese companies in Nigeria: industrial accidents caused by lack of safety standards, and forced labor.  

African Traders in China and Chinese Traders in Africa

 The Migration Policy Institute published on 21 July 2021 an article titled "As Migration and Trade Increase between China and Africa, Traders at Both Ends Often Face Precarity" by Daouda Cisse.

Many African migrant entrepreneurs and traders who reside in China and Chinese migrants in Africa live in difficult circumstances.  An estimated 500,000 African migrants live in China and an estimated one to two million Chinese reside or work in Africa, although many are not entrepreneurs and traders.

Concerns about Fair Elections in Ethiopia

Ethiopia Insight published on 23 December 2019 a commentary titled "Ethiopian Politics' Repressive Democratic Fraud" by Nagessa Dube, opposition candidate in 2010 parliamentary elections and now a lawyer in Minneapolis.

This is an account of EPRDF tactics to ensure defeat of opposition candidates in 2010. The author argues that past election practices raise grave doubts about the prospects for free and fair elections in 2020.

Zambian Officials and Chinese Businessmen Illegally Export Rosewood to China

The Environmental Investigation Agency recently published a report titled "Mukula Cartel: How Timber Tafficking Networks Plunder Zambian Forests."

Senior Zambian officials have reportedly orchestrated and facilitated massive trafficking operations that are driving mukula rosewood trees to the edge of commercial extinction, devastating vulnerable forests, and threatening communities' livelihoods. The State-owned company Zambia Forestry and Forest Industries Corporation Limited (ZAFFICO) is secretly used as a cover for well-connected Zambian officials and Chinese business operators to export thousands of mukula logs, despite a ban on their export. The overwhelming majority of the logs goes to China. This expose quotes Chinese entrepreneurs who engage in bribery to facilitate the exports.

Chinese Investment in Africa and Combatting Corruption

The Wharton School at the Univerity of Pennsylvania published on 19 September 2019 an analysis titled "Chinese Investments in Africa: Four Anti-corruption Trends to Watch" by Chinwe Esimai, Citigroup.

The author argues that combating corruption represents a defining leadership question for Africa; it is up to Africans to decide how to deal with the problem.

Global Corruption Barometer Africa 2019

The Global Corruption Barometer Africa is published by Transparency International in partnership with Afrobarometer. It provides public opinion data on citizen's views on corruption and direct experience of bribery in Africa based on fieldwork in 34 countries between 2016 and 2018.

The report concludes that corruption is on the rise, many governments are failing to do enough, concerns about the integrity of public officials remain high, bribery demands are a regular occurrence for many, people's experience with bribery varies, and despite fears of retaliation, citizens can make a difference. The percentage of Africans who thought corruption increased the most in the past 12 months live in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, Gabon, Namibia and Madagascar. The countries where citizens thought it had increased the least in the last 12 months were Tanzania, Burkina Faso, Gambia, Ghana and Benin.

China, Israel, Kenya, and Bribes

Kenya's Business Daily published on 25 September 2018 an article titled "How Israel, China Firms Bribe Kenyan Officials" by Brian Ngugi.


The article reports that Chinese and Israel companies are among international contractors who regularly bribe Kenyan officials to win lucrative public infrastructure contracts according to a new report by Transparency International.

China's Belt and Road Initiative: Business Implications for Africa

The Washington Post's Monkey Cage posted on 24 July 2017 an analysis titled "China's 'Belt and Road' Opens Up New Business in Africa--for Both the U.S. and China" by Janet Eom, research associate at the China-Africa Research Initiative at the Johns Hopkins University of Advanced International Studies.

The author concludes that China's economic needs, rather than any set political agenda, drive Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative. She also suggests the initiative opens up new business in Africa for both China and the United States. While there are areas for Chinese-American cooperation in Africa, it is less clear how American business will benefit directly from the Belt and Road Initiative.

Dealing with Corruption in Africa's War Zones

Enough published in October 2016 a report titled "Bankrupting Kleptocracy: Financial Tools To Counter Kleptocracy in Africa's Deadliest War Zones" by J.R. Mailey and Jacinth Planer.

The study argues that fighting corruption must become a cornerstone of U.S. engagement with countries that have been plagued by violent kleptocracy and there must be consequences for kleptocrats. It urges use of a combination of sanctions, anti-money laundering measures, and the anti-bribery provisions of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.