A new report by the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) has raised alarm over a growing but often overlooked threat to democratic governance across the African continent—what it calls “democracy capture.”
Presenting findings from the Democracy Capture (DemCap) Report 2025 in Accra on July 7, Dr. John Osae-Kwapong, Democracy and Development Fellow at CDD-Ghana, explained that while high-profile crises such as military coups and electoral violence dominate headlines, “a quieter and more corrosive threat has taken root across many countries on the continent: democracy capture.”
The report, a component of the DemCap project, offers a unique comparative analysis of democracy capture in ten African countries—Benin, Botswana, DRC, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, and Tanzania—using original data gathered from 370 state institutions and agencies.
The study assesses six dimensions of democratic governance: vertical and horizontal accountability institutions, policymaking bodies, enforcement agencies, implementing agencies, and independent regulatory agencies.
According to Dr. Osae-Kwapong, “Overall, across all countries examined, there is a worrying level of democracy capture. A considerable number of agencies/institutions—60%—currently reflect at least some level of capture by a perpetrator.”
More alarmingly, only 40% of the institutions studied were rated as not subject to any form of capture.
Lesser-known entities such as implementing and independent regulatory agencies were found to be more vulnerable than prominent oversight bodies.
The report identifies chief executives, especially presidents, as the leading actors in democracy capture in several countries, including Benin, DR Congo, Senegal, and Nigeria. However, it also flags business elites and politically influential individuals outside formal structures as significant perpetrators.
“Businesspeople and influential individuals… are almost as likely to be perpetrators as political parties,” the report notes, revealing a broader ecosystem of elite-driven institutional manipulation.
The motivations behind democracy capture are twofold: increasing partisan control and securing material gain. According to the report, these actions negatively impact procurement, prosecutions, legislative scrutiny, public service delivery, and overall democratic accountability.
Dr. Osae-Kwapong cautioned, “While the intention of many perpetrators may not be to destroy democracy outright, their actions often bend institutions to serve narrow interests in ways that may appear benign in the short term but ultimately undermine the vitality and resilience of democratic systems.”
With certain countries flagged as particularly vulnerable to future capture, the report urges African states and development partners to pay closer attention to institutional integrity beyond electoral events. “Democracy capture is not the exception—it is the risk that lurks beneath the surface of all political systems,” Dr. Osae-Kwapong warned.
CDD-Ghana says the DemCap project provides more than a dataset, adding that it offers a new lens for understanding and responding to democratic backsliding.
The organisation expressed the hope the findings will inform policies that protect and strengthen institutions before they are irreparably compromised.
