Your account has been succesfully created.

Subscribe now

WEST AFRICA

Africa's masonic grand masters using square and compasses for political gain

Congolese President Denis Sassou Nguesso, who chairs the Grande Loge du Congo. © Christophe Morin/IP3 Press/MaxPPP

Although they forbid both atheism and political debate, Africa's so-called "regular" masonic lodges, led by Congolese President Denis Sassou Nguesso, are being torn apart by the political ambitions of their grand masters. [...] (609 words)

Issue dated 02/02/2021 Reading time 3 minutes

This article may be accessed by subscribers and e-wallet holders (USD 12.50)

2 options offered to continue reading

e-wallet

from EUR/USD 50

Only buy articles you are interested in

ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION

Unlimited access to the website

See our rates

Choose the option that suits you best: Compare all of our offers!

Do you want a free trial before subscribing?

Create your free account

Do you want a free trial before subscribing?

create a free account

Receive free prompts for these topics

Abdoul Kabele Camara
Alassane Ouattara
Albert Pitte
Ali Bongo
Alpha Condé
Blaise Compaoré
Boubacar Keita
Conseil national du patronat du Bénin
David Mignonsin
Denis Sassou Nguesso
Eustache Kotingan
Famakan Sissoko
Faure Gnassingbé
Faustin-Archange Touadéra
François Bozizé
Grande Loge de Côte d'Ivoire
Grande Loge de France
Grande Loge de Guinee
Grande Loge du Benin
Grande Loge du Congo
Grande Loge du Gabon
Grande Loge nationale du Mali
Grande Loge nationale togolaise
Hamed Bakayoko
Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta
Ignace Clomegah
Karim Keïta
Patrice Talon
Sadio Lamine Sow
Sébastien Issaka Pessinaba
Sylvere Koyo
United Grand Lodge of England

Former prime minister Hamed Bakayoko to get tribute book

Former French Prime Minister Manuel Valls will sign the preface of a book dedicated to the former Ivorian Defence Minister Hamed Bakayoko who died a year ago. [...]

IVORY COAST 18/02/2022

Sylvère Koyo set to take over at Grande Loge de Côte d'Ivoire

Ivory Coast's main Masonic lodge will next month officially appoint its new leader, a year after its veteran Grand Master and former prime minister Hamed Bakayoko died. [...]

WEST AFRICA 10/12/2021

Fertiliser king Salif Ouédraogo targeted by Cotonou lawsuit

The fertiliser trader, a key figure in the Sahelian agricultural sector for the past twenty years who was close to Burkina Faso president Blaise Compaoré and Beninese president Thomas Boni Yahi, is the target of a lawsuit by a Malian client. [...]

IVORY COAST 19/11/2021

Lidya Ludic venture threatens Abidjan-Pretoria relations

Lydia Ludic Côte d'Ivoire, a joint venture between the gambling and entertainment group Pefaco International and South African investors, has been paralysed by trench warfare between its shareholders and its management. [...]

IVORY COAST CONGO 30/07/2021

Sassou set to mediate in Freemason crisis

The succession tussle at the Grande Loge de Côte d'Ivoire (GLCI) is continuing to divide the country's Freemasons. The Congolese president, who is influential in this milieu, is gearing up to mediate in the coming days. [...]

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC 07/07/2021

Lebanese firms battle over passport contract

Al Madina, which makes ID cards and other documents for Central African Republic citizens, wants to snatch the biometric passport contract held since 20210 by compatriot Africard. [...]

IVORY COAST 06/07/2021

Ivory Coast freemasons battle over Bakayoko's succession

The death in March of Ivory Coast grand master and prime minister Hamed Bakayoko created a vacuum that has still not been filled. Interim grand master Sylvère Koyo, assisted by retail distribution magnate Adnan Houdrouge, is trying to take his place but is meeting growing resistance. [...]

GABON 14/06/2021

Gendarmerie intel chief sidelines his number two

Spymaster Jean-Norbert Madjoupa, who is at odds with his deputy, delegates his powers to other more trusted officers when he travels abroad. [...]

AFRICA 19/05/2021

French grand lodge faces pushback from 'regular' Masons in Africa

The trip to Benin by Jean-Pierre Rollet, one of France's most senior Freemasons, has riled African affiliates of his French grand lodge who take increasing exception to his tutelage and look with envy to so-called 'regular' lodges with loose ties to the United Grand Lodge of England. [...]

IVORY COAST 28/04/2021

Sylvère Koyo appointed interim masonic lodge grand master after Bakayoko's death

Without waiting for the end of the traditional three-month mourning period, the brothers of the Grande Loge de Cote d'Ivoire (GLCI) have appointed an interim successor to recently deceased prime minister Hamed Bakayoko. He will remain in the position until the lodge's next general assembly. [...]

CHAD CONGO 27/04/2021

Congo's Freemasons shaken by Idriss Déby's death

Denis Sassou Nguesso introduced Idriss Déby to the Freemasons in the early 2000s, making him the first Deputy Grand Master (DGM) of the Grande loge du Congo (GLC). [...]

WEST AFRICA 25/03/2021

Portuguese-speaking countries discreetly lobby for ECOWAS presidency

Portuguese-speaking countries have been busy behind the scenes trying to get their voices heard in ECOWAS, which is dominated by French- and English-speaking members. The president of Guinea-Bissau has even reached out to foes Alassane Ouattara and Alpha Condé. [...]

Bissau-Guinean President Umaro Sissoco Embaló and his Cape Verdean counterpart Jorge Carlos Fonseca, 19 January 2021. © Presidente da República de Guiné-Bissau/Facebook

TOGO MALI IVORY COAST 23/03/2021

Karim Keïta holds secret meeting with Faure Gnassingbé in Lomé

The son of Mali's former president Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, who has been living in exile in Abijan since the 18 August military coup, paid a discreet visit to Togo's president Faure Gnassingbé in Lomé mid-March. [...]

The son of Mali's former president Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, Karim Keïta. © Nicolas Remene/Le Pictorium/MaxPPP

IVORY COAST 25/02/2021

Who is standing in for Bakayoko at GLCI lodge?

The temporary absence of its Grand Master Hamed Bakayoko, who is currently undergoing medical tests in France, has obliged the Grande loge de Côte d'Ivoire to provisionally restructure itself. [...]

IVORY COAST 23/02/2021

Adama Coulibaly crafts Ivory Coast eurobond, sidelines prime minister

The Ivorian economy and finance minister was the main man behind an €850m eurobond launched by Abidjan in mid-February. The prime minister found himself sidelined by the operation. [...]

Ivorian Ministry of Economy and Finance Adama Coulibaly.

CONGO 11/02/2021

Sassou mobilises wife and children for re-election bid

The Congolese president has put his inner circle to work to defend his mixed record and to justify his decision to run again in March for a fourth term as head of state. [...]

Congolese President Denis Sassou Nguesso. © Benoit Tessier/Reuters

Equatorial Guinean President Teodoro Obiang and his Gabonese counterpart Ali Bongo, in 2019. © Présidence de la République gabonaise

Spotlight

GABON EQUATORIAL GUINEA 09/02/2021

Obiang and Bongo compete for Saudi funds

Covid oil blues prompt Malabo and Libreville's ruling families to seek help from the Gulf. [...]

CONGO 04/02/2021

Sassou receives a fillip from Turkish billionaire Ali Metin Kazanci as he bids for re-election

As Denis Sassou NGuesso seeks a fourth term as president, Aksa Enerji, a firm owned by a Turkish oligarch close to Ankara's ruling party, is speeding up its plans to increase electricity supply to Pointe-Noire, a city that has traditionally been hostile to the Congolese leader. [...]

IVORY COAST 25/01/2021

Ouattara draws up cabinet shortlist

As the country gears up for legislative elections on March 6, there have been intense negotiations about who will be in the next government. The president has already pencilled in a few names. [...]

IVORY COAST 22/12/2020

Legislative polls offer a dress rehearsal for post-Ouattara era

The upcoming parliamentary elections will be a trial run for the ruling RHDP party's senior members. A position in Alassane Ouattara's future cabinet could become a stepping stone for the top job as the president has announced he will step down from power after this term. [...]

Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara. © Yvan Sonh/Xinhua News Agency/Newscom/MaxPPP

IVORY COAST 20/10/2020

Construction king Bonkoungou gives wings to Ouattara's presidential campaign

Ouattara will be jetting around the country campaigning for a third mandate on a plane belonging to banking and building king Mahamadou Bonkoungou. [...]

The Falcon 900Ex EaSy used by Ouattara. © DR

IVORY COAST 10/09/2020

The long road to Hamed Bakayoko's re-election as freemason-in-chief

The prime minister is soon due to be sworn in for a second term as head of the Grande Loge de Côte d'Ivoire. His re-election was the culmination of more than a year of careful planning. [...]

Ivorian Prime Minister Hamed Bakayoko © Reuters

GABON 20/11/2019

Maixent Accrombessi makes his Masonic influence felt

Tangible in Libreville since the fall of his successor Brice Laccruche, the influence of Ali Bongo's former chief of staff Maixent Accrombessi is especially keenly felt in Freemason circles. [...]

CONGO 06/11/2019

Donatien Kivouvou, new Grand Master of GOCB

In late October, the Grand Orient du Congo-Brazzaville (GOCB), one of the three main Masonic lodges in Congo, chose a [...]

MALI 23/10/2019

Famakan Sissoko, new master of Mali's brotherhood

At a gathering on 10 October in its temple in [...]

TOGO 25/09/2019

Ignace Clomegah caught in Sassou/Bongo crossfire

The dispute that has been tearing apart the Grande Loge nationale togolaise (GLNT) for months now has implicitly drawn in [...]

Spotlight

AFRICA 23/05/2018

The Freemasons push back against the politicians

Freemasonry may be the classic means for governments to co-opt their elites, but lodges throughout west and central Africa are increasingly defying the politicians. An investigation into the lodges that are striving to assert their independence. [...]

MALI 15/02/2017

War rages on among freemasons after new leader's appointement

Far from assuaging tensions among Mali’s Freemasons, the appointment of Lamine Sow as grand master has made things worse. [...]

Spotlight

WEST AFRICA 01/02/2017

Freemasonry in disarray

The death in a road accident on Jan. 29 of Clotaire Magloire Coffie shouldn’t result in a major shake-up of the Grande Loge de Cote d’Ivoire (GLCI). After serving as grand master for three decades Coffie gave up his post [. [...]

Receive free prompts for these topics

Abdoul Kabele Camara
Alassane Ouattara
Albert Pitte
Ali Bongo
Alpha Condé
Blaise Compaoré
Boubacar Keita
Conseil national du patronat du Bénin
David Mignonsin
Denis Sassou Nguesso
Eustache Kotingan
Famakan Sissoko
Faure Gnassingbé
Faustin-Archange Touadéra
François Bozizé
Grande Loge de Côte d'Ivoire
Grande Loge de France
Grande Loge de Guinee
Grande Loge du Benin
Grande Loge du Congo
Grande Loge du Gabon
Grande Loge nationale du Mali
Grande Loge nationale togolaise
Hamed Bakayoko
Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta
Ignace Clomegah
Karim Keïta
Patrice Talon
Sadio Lamine Sow
Sébastien Issaka Pessinaba
Sylvere Koyo
United Grand Lodge of England

New: Sign up for real-time alerts and be notified of new editions!

Once registered, you will be notified by a short message on your computer or mobile phone as soon as a new edition of our publication or an alert is published. Stay informed anytime, anywhere!

Chad, Togo and Ivory Coast vie for blue helmet contracts

The secret story of Déby clan's links with Nigerian mogul Ali Modu Sheriff

African Union: the battle of the giants

Cabo Delgado: a gas Eldorado and security nightmare

The ANC's fierce leadership contest

Africa's masonic grand masters using square and compasses for political gain

This article may be accessed by subscribers and e-wallet holders (USD 12.50)

2 options offered to continue reading

Create your free account

create a free account

Receive free prompts for these topics

Former prime minister Hamed Bakayoko to get tribute book

Sylvère Koyo set to take over at Grande Loge de Côte d'Ivoire

Fertiliser king Salif Ouédraogo targeted by Cotonou lawsuit

Lidya Ludic venture threatens Abidjan-Pretoria relations

Sassou set to mediate in Freemason crisis

Lebanese firms battle over passport contract

Ivory Coast freemasons battle over Bakayoko's succession

Gendarmerie intel chief sidelines his number two

French grand lodge faces pushback from 'regular' Masons in Africa

Sylvère Koyo appointed interim masonic lodge grand master after Bakayoko's death

Congo's Freemasons shaken by Idriss Déby's death

Portuguese-speaking countries discreetly lobby for ECOWAS presidency

Karim Keïta holds secret meeting with Faure Gnassingbé in Lomé

Who is standing in for Bakayoko at GLCI lodge?

Adama Coulibaly crafts Ivory Coast eurobond, sidelines prime minister

Sassou mobilises wife and children for re-election bid

Obiang and Bongo compete for Saudi funds

Sassou receives a fillip from Turkish billionaire Ali Metin Kazanci as he bids for re-election

Ouattara draws up cabinet shortlist

Legislative polls offer a dress rehearsal for post-Ouattara era

Construction king Bonkoungou gives wings to Ouattara's presidential campaign

The long road to Hamed Bakayoko's re-election as freemason-in-chief

Maixent Accrombessi makes his Masonic influence felt

Donatien Kivouvou, new Grand Master of GOCB

Famakan Sissoko, new master of Mali's brotherhood

Ignace Clomegah caught in Sassou/Bongo crossfire

The Freemasons push back against the politicians

War rages on among freemasons after new leader's appointement

Freemasonry in disarray

Receive free prompts for these topics

First visit

Contacts

Tools

Follow us

A website produced by

Indigo Publications also publishes: