Anti-corruption groups urge African leaders to close enforcement gap, back international anti-graft court

The groups made the call on Saturday to mark the 2026 African Anti-Corruption Day observed under the African Union (AU) theme, "Scaling Up the Promotion of Integrity and Anti-Corruption Actions Across Africa."

Civil society organisations from Africa have called on governments to move beyond anti-corruption commitments and focus on enforcing existing laws, warning that weak accountability continues to fuel grand corruption and deprive the continent of billions of dollars needed for development.

The groups made the call in a joint statement shared with PREMIUM TIMES on Saturday to mark the 2026 African Anti-Corruption Day observed under the African Union (AU) theme, “Scaling Up the Promotion of Integrity and Anti-Corruption Actions Across Africa.”

Observed annually on 11 July, African Anti-Corruption Day commemorates the adoption of the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption (AUCPCC) in 2003.

The convention provides the continent’s legal framework for preventing, detecting and combating corruption, while this year’s theme focuses on translating anti-corruption commitments into concrete action.

The organisations stated that although African countries have established anti-corruption agencies, financial intelligence units, audit institutions, procurement rules and regional accountability frameworks, the biggest challenge remains enforcing the laws already in place.

“Africa does not lack anti-corruption commitments. The continent has laws, conventions, anti-corruption agencies, financial intelligence units, audit institutions, ombudsman offices, procurement rules and regional accountability frameworks. What remains urgent is enforcement. Integrity cannot be scaled up if powerful people and their conspirators can steal public resources, launder the proceeds, intimidate truth-tellers and escape accountability,” the Executive Director of Tournons La Page, Mathieu Pourchier, noted.

The groups said the cost of weak enforcement is enormous. Citing estimates by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), they noted that Africa loses about $88.6 billion annually to illicit financial flows, an amount equivalent to about 3.7 per cent of the continent’s gross domestic product.

According to the statement, the lost resources could otherwise finance schools, hospitals, water infrastructure, youth employment and social protection programmes across the continent.

The organisations said grand corruption remains particularly damaging because it weakens institutions, distorts elections, undermines public service delivery and shields politically connected individuals from accountability.

Chair of the Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA) Resource Centre, Olanrewaju Suraju, stressed that tackling the problem requires stronger prevention, investigation, prosecution, asset recovery and international cooperation.

He noted that stolen public wealth is often concealed through cross-border financial systems involving banks, shell companies, offshore accounts and professional facilitators.

The organisations also renewed their support for the proposed International Anti-Corruption Court (IACC), arguing that it would complement national justice systems by prosecuting grand corruption cases where domestic authorities are unwilling or unable to act.

According to them, the proposed court would serve as a court of last resort, strengthen international accountability and help recover stolen public assets.

“Africa does not suffer from a lack of anti-corruption commitments; it suffers from an accountability deficit. Scaling up integrity means closing the gap between promises and consequences by ensuring that no public official, business leader, or politically connected individual is above the law,” the Acting Chief Executive Officer of Transparency Mauritius, Laura Jaymangal, stated.

Ms Jaymangal said strengthening national institutions remains essential, but where domestic systems fail to tackle grand corruption, complementary international mechanisms such as the proposed International Anti-Corruption Court should be seriously considered to ensure stolen public wealth finds no safe haven.

The organisations urged African governments to enforce anti-corruption laws impartially, protect whistleblowers, journalists, activists and honest public officials, improve transparency in public procurement, land administration, natural resource contracts and public finance, and strengthen anti-money laundering and asset recovery efforts.

They explained that greater transparency in infrastructure projects and the proactive disclosure of public information would help reduce opportunities for corruption and strengthen public oversight.

Head of Liaison and Advocacy at Good Governance Africa, Karam Singh said Africa would struggle to achieve the aspirations of the AU’s Agenda 2063 if public resources continue to be diverted into private hands.

Agenda 2063 is the African Union’s long-term blueprint for inclusive growth, good governance and sustainable development across the continent.

Mr Singh said that where political interference weakens domestic institutions, African countries should be prepared to embrace complementary regional and international accountability mechanisms to tackle grand corruption.

Also, Board Member of Integrity Initiatives International, Justice Richard Goldstone, urged African leaders, public institutions, the private sector, civil society organisations, the media and citizens to move beyond awareness campaigns by strengthening systems that prevent abuse of office, challenge corruption and recover stolen public wealth.

He noted that corruption should be treated as an assault on development, democracy and human dignity, urging African governments to translate their anti-corruption commitments into concrete action.