These days, no online group conjures up such varied emotions as Anonymous. The utterance of the word is sure to resonant differently depending on who you talk to. Some see the loosely associated hacktivist group as a self-righteous bully; others view members as freedom fighters. The official Anonymous (if it can even be considered official) is notoriously aggressive in standing up for what it considers human rights. Often, this means defacing websites, releasing personal information, and attempting to scare future “perpetrators” into submission.

It is hard to pinpoint true Anonymous members, but numerous groups all over the world are closely aligned with Anonymous. Or at least they claim to be. Their common mantra is usually along the lines of: “We are Anonymous. We are Legion. We do not forgive. We do not forget. Expect us.” Many groups often work on behalf of a country even if member(s) aren’t located in that same country.

Operations in Africa may or may not be officially associated with the true Anonymous group, but it really doesn’t matter. These entities stress the need to stop human rights violations. They aggressively stand for causes that other groups use diplomacy to combat. African groups appear to rarely hack; instead they are more keen on spreading news of atrocities again innocent citizens. These accounts often come across as untrustworthy and can easily appear thuggish. Still, the gritty information truly exposes the side of life that often flies under the radar. At the least, Anonymous groups in Africa serve to raise awareness of uncouth political leadership.

Key African groups supposedly linked to Anonymous are extremely vocal on Twitter. We’ve listed some of the most active below:

Gabon

OpGabon is in support of Gabonese people, their right to protest and their right to justice against ritual killings by politicians. The group opposes government corruption and crimes committed by the Ali Bongo regime. Gabon OnlineVoice works in conjunction with OpGabon and supports the same causes.

 

Eritrea

Anonymous Eritrea is united against government oppression. Tweets come across as aggressive but comprehensively cover all things Eritrea.

 

Nigeria

Anonymous Nigeria is vehemently opposed to corruption.

 

Tunisia

Anonymous Tunisia has recently been focused on greater Anonymous campaigns in Israel and Qatar. The group has its own website and uses Twitter as an extension of Facebook.

 

Egypt

Operation Egypt (more globally situated) is in solidarity with the people of Egypt struggling peacefully for their basic rights. Updates include a variety of national and international stories on Egyptian conflicts.

 

South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Tchad, and Ethiopia all appear to also have some form of Anonymous presence. It’s near impossible to confirm and again, it almost doesn’t matter if these groups are “official” or not, they all support people’s rights.