AfriNIC gets temporary reprieve in ongoing dispute with Cloud Innovation

The African Network Information Centre (AfriNIC), which is Africa’s Regional Internet Registry (RIR) has obtained a temporary reprieve after a court in Mauritius allowed it to access funds from its accounts. The accounts had been frozen following a legal dispute with Cloud Innovation Limited, a China-based company. AfriNIC had attempted to revoke over 6 million IP addresses from Cloud Innovation, for allegedly breaching AfriNIC’s policies. In turn, Cloud Innovation received a court order freezing all AfriNIC’s bank accounts. Consequently, almost all AfriNIC’s operations have been suspended since July when Cloud Innovation obtained the order. 

In an update to the AfriNIC community, AfriNIC CEO Eddy Kayihura stated that the court had allowed AfriNIC access to some of its funds. The company therefore processed pending bills from July and August. Pundits have raised concern over the dispute, which they say could affect internet sustainability on the continent.