South Africa’s President, Cyril Ramaphosa has reportedly cried wolf. He was allegedly quoted as having told the media that his government started getting bad publicity after he rejected a move by Bill Gates to conduct experimental hormonal Intra Uterine Devices (IUD) in South Africa as a birth control method.
However, what isn’t new is the fact that for historical reasons and because of both Africa’s level of development and scientific capacity, the West has for a very long time used Africa as a field laboratory for ‘scientific’ experiments whose real motives were often obscure.
That was made possible partly because of the tendency by the leadership in Africa to politicise almost everything, including the people’s freedom to exercise informed choices on issues and matters that involved their lives, wellbeing and dignity as human beings.
In the 1970s and early ’80s Tanzania for instance, there was a very powerful family planning association known as “Uzazi wa Mpango Tanzania,” best known by its Kiswahili acronym of “Umati,” which was funded by the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF). Umati quickly became a quasi-governmental department until donor funding evaporated and the association almost died a natural death.
I remember some of their controversial services included the Depo Provera birth control injections, touted then as a great choice for the freedom of women since a single jab enabled a woman not to conceive for a period of up to seven years. Depo Provera later became controversial as further experiments singled it out for the increased rate of cervical cancer among Beagle dogs. In other words, the drug was being experimented in tandem on Beagle dogs and in Tanzania (as the human control group) to establish the side effects of the birth control method. Because of the low level of knowledge, accountability and legal consequences, drug companies are often never held to account for the harm they cause in Africa, partly because African governments are usually part of the scam.
Birth control is a seemingly innocuous activity and highly ‘philanthropic gift to poor’ people to help them make informed choices and empower their lives. But the recipients rarely stopped to think about the impact and consequences of mining a nation’s vital health data abated by the host government. If they can do that in South Africa, then it is just like conducting a field day for the rest of the continent.
Ramaphosa has reportedly vowed that won’t happen and has asked Africa to coordinate policy and responses to the new existential threat that the continent faces. Africa is a client continent and consumers can never unite. But if the leaders have finally awakened to the danger, then that is the same as half the problem solved.
I can dare say South Africa has been, by and large, extremely selfish. South Africa gained freedom partly because of the sacrifice made by the rest of the continent. (Not that I want South Africa to repay the rest of Africa).
But once free, South Africans thought they were different. In fact, some South Africans never wanted to be referred to as Africans and their country as an African country. Africa was the rest of continent up north but not South Africa! That divide and rule tactic was further advanced through narratives that categorised the continent as “Africa south of the Sahara, excluding South Africa.”
Our fellow South Africans grew big headed but they have now been made to understand their true place in global geo-politics. US president Donald Trump has reportedly made clear that South Africa will not be invited to the 2026 G20 summit in Miami despite the fact that South Africa is a founding member of Club and the immediate past president of the 2025 G20 summit in Johannesburg.
I believe South Africa is being harassed and bullied for a number of reasons, including its stand on some global issues and the general disrespect for Africans. Mwalimu Julius Nyerere said Africa has no uncle. It is up to Africa to both claim and reclaim its place in the global comity of nations. That can only happen by providing a united front. It is the new challenge for Africa.
