Freemasonry, often shrouded in mystery and secret rituals, originated in Europe in the 18th century. It brings together “initiates” in lodges fraternal organizations where rites, symbolic teachings, and strict oaths of allegiance are practiced. Among the world’s major obediences are the National Grand Lodge of France (GLNF), the Grand Lodge of France (GLF), and the Grand Orient of France (GOF). Freemasonry is divided: some lodges are religious (referencing the “Great Architect of the Universe”), while others are fiercely secular.
But why such enthusiasm in Africa?
Since being imported by French colonial administrators, African lodges have continued to grow. Today, between 25,000 and 30,000 Freemasons are estimated to frequent temples in Francophone Africa, where lodges are often perceived as exclusive clubs reserved for political, economic, and military elites.
Heads of State Under the Compass and Square
The list of African presidents affiliated with Masonic lodges is both long and surprising:
The Lodge: A Charity Club or a Power Machine?
Freemasonry theoretically promotes noble values: tolerance, freedom, equality, and solidarity. Yet, on African soil, many denounce a corrupted practice: political co-optation, economic favoritism, rigged public contracts, and opaque networking.
Is it still fraternity when membership becomes a passport to social ascent and political control?
In countries like Benin, Cameroon, and Côte d’Ivoire, lodges have been accused of directly interfering in political processes, organizing behind-the-scenes reconciliation dialogues sometimes with little success, as seen during the Ivorian crisis.
Freemasonry: A New Colonial Grip?
The massive involvement of African heads of state in lodges affiliated with French obediences (GLNF, GOF) raises a troubling question:
Is African Freemasonry a new instrument of neocolonial control?
Over the decades, figures like Jacques Foccart, De Gaulle’s “Mr. Africa,” and, more recently, François Stifani, former Grand Master of the GLNF, have worked to strengthen these networks. Freemasonry thus became a discreet but powerful channel of French—and even Anglo-Saxon soft power.
The National Grand Lodge of France, recognized by the United Grand Lodge of England and American Freemasonry, is particularly active in Africa, often viewed as a “Trojan horse” for foreign influence.
What Do the African People Gain from All This?
This is the central question: What has Africa gained in return for this silent infiltration of lodges into its spheres of power?
While some Freemasons claim charitable works (schools, orphanages), many denounce a system that benefits only a greedy elite, further widening the gap between leaders and the people.
Worse still, many perceive the lodges as an extension of the colonial era, where membership becomes an instrument of voluntary submission to former colonial powers.
Light or Darkness?
Is Freemasonry in Francophone Africa a quest for enlightenment or a seductive darkness, masking nepotism, betrayal, and foreign domination?
As long as transparency is not the rule within these lodges and their members secretly run African affairs, the shadow of the compass and square will continue to loom over the continent’s future.
