The Safari Club: Africa’s Cold-War Intelligence Network

In the shadowy world of international espionage, the Cold War was a time of high stakes and high drama. The American CIA and the Soviet KGB were the puppet masters, pulling strings and manipulating events on a global scale. But nowhere was this dangerous game more unpredictable than in Africa. The continent was a hotbed of coups, uprisings, and changes of national leadership. It was a place where stateless nations, armed resistances, tribal groups, and warlords controlled their own small pockets of territory.

By the 1970s, however, the CIA’s powers were curtailed by Congressional efforts, leading to a need for a new approach to maintain Western influence in Africa. The answer was the Safari Club, a covert alliance of intelligence networks that became Africa’s most powerful anti-communist force.

The Safari Club was born out of necessity. The CIA, created in 1947, had been given carte blanche to do whatever was necessary on foreign soil with minimal restrictions and no real meaningful oversight from the federal government. However, the Watergate scandal and subsequent investigations into the CIA’s activities led to a significant reduction in the agency’s powers. The CIA’s international network of allies, including France, the UK, Israel, and Iran, were left to figure out how to fill the void.

The solution came from a Frenchman named Alexandre de Marenches, the head of France’s intelligence service. He proposed an international intelligence network in Africa, inviting five other nations — Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Morocco, Iran, and Algeria — to join. Algeria declined, but the other four nations agreed, and in 1976, the Safari Club was formed.

The Safari Club’s mission was clear: to support anti-communist movements across Africa and exert their influence globally. Each participating nation assumed a subset of responsibility for the overall mission. France supplied high-tech equipment, Egypt and Morocco provided personnel and weapons, and Saudi Arabia brought its considerable financial resources.

The Safari Club’s first taste of action came in 1977 during a period of unrest in Zaire’s Shaba province. The conflict was a front for the Angolan Civil War and a chance for the Safari Club to protect valuable mines within the Congo. Despite initial military failures on Zaire’s part, troops from Morocco and Egypt, airlifted via French aircraft, were able to turn the tide.

The Safari Club also played a crucial role in facilitating peace between Egypt and Israel, leading to the Camp David Accords in 1978. Intelligence gathered from the Safari Club’s networks was instrumental in building trust between both sides.

However, it was in the Horn of Africa that the Safari Club would have its most classically Cold War-ish undertaking. The Ogaden War, also known as the Ethio-Somali War, turned into a proxy conflict waged between an invasion force from Somalia and Ethiopian defenders. The Safari Club intervened, providing Somalia with crucial material support and facilitating long-term military involvement between the U.S and Somalia.

Despite its effectiveness, the Safari Club was a relatively short-lived organization. The Iranian Revolution in 1979 removed Iran from the mix, and the club’s work in Zaire, Somalia, and the Israeli-Egyptian peace talks would be the extent of its known impact.

However, the Safari Club’s legacy would shape the rest of the Cold War in Africa. The diplomatic ties and intelligence networks it created lasted for decades. The Safari Club may have been a fleeting presence in the grand scheme of international politics, but its impact was indelible. It left a mark on Africa and the world that is still felt today.