Last month, Wagner’s leader, Evgueni Prigojine, had called on his men to regroup for the army. This was after a short rebellion against Vladimir Putin. Now, the mercenary says he is in Africa where he and his men are working to make Russia “greater”.

In a 41-second clip shared on Telegram, Evgueni Prigojine, the leader of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner, revealed his current location: Africa. He added that the group is on the continent to expand Russia's influence.

"We are working. The temperature is 122 degrees Fahrenheit. Just the way we like it. PMC Wagner conducts reconnaissance and search activities, making Russia greater on all continents, and in Africa, even freer. Justice and happiness for the African people! We are the nightmare of ISIS, al-Qaeda, and other gangsters. We employ real heroes and continue to fulfill the tasks assigned to us, and those we have promised to fulfill!" says Prigojine, standing in a desert landscape.

Prigojine’s last media appearance was in July. He was seen with Freddy Mapouka, the chief of protocol for Central African President Faustin Archange Touadéra, on the sidelines of the Russia-Africa summit.

Wagner, it is worth noting, is accused of being Moscow's military arm in Africa. On June 23, the group rebelled against the Kremlin, accusing the Russian army of conducting deadly strikes on its fighter camps in Ukraine. However, 24 hours later, after mediation by Belorussian President Alexander Lukashenko, Prigojine called back his men to their bases - they were marching on Moscow - to "avoid bloodshed".

Shortly after, Prigojine told his men in a video to "gather their forces for a new journey to Africa." His recent appearance comes on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit, currently held in South Africa. The BRICS bloc, which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, is increasingly considered an alternative to the economic and geopolitical hegemony long exerted by Western powers such as the USA and France.

Moutiou Adjibi Nourou