Skip to main Communities My dashboard Log in Sign up Pan-African Research Journal Africa Published April 21, 2026 | Version v1 Journal article Open Code, Capacity, and Control: AI, Algorithmic Governance, and Political Accountability in African States Authors/Creators Politics, Associate Professor of 1 States, Political Accountability in African Nyuon, Abraham Kuol Show affiliations 1.
Principal, Graduate College, University of Juba Description Code, Capacity, and Control: AI, Algorithmic Governance, and Political Accountability in African States examines the dual use of digital systems as instruments of developmental administration and as infrastructures for surveillance, exclusion, and political control. Centering South Sudan without treating it as exceptional, the study situates the case within broader debates in digital governance, AI ethics, ICT4D, and authoritarian technology diffusion. It develops the concept of algorithmic developmental authoritarianism to explain how formal norms, institutional design, and struggles over authority become fused in the deployment of digital systems. Drawing on comparative analysis of AI adoption in Rwanda, Kenya, Ghana, and South Africa; legal analysis of data protection and AI governance frameworks; technical audit approaches to algorithmic accountability; and interviews with government e-governance officials, civil society digital rights advocates, and AI practitioners, the study advances three linked propositions. First, algorithmic governance combines administrative promise with significant political risk. Second, imported digital infrastructures carry embedded accountability models that shape domestic governance outcomes. Third, effective public oversight of AI deployment remains uneven and politically contested. The analysis addresses the central question of how African governments deploy AI and machine learning across sectors such as taxation, land administration, policing, and border management, and under what governance conditions, accountability mechanisms, and evidence of effectiveness. It shows that institutions, narratives, and policy frameworks function as political instruments rather than neutral technical arrangements. The study concludes that reform eff Files final_69e76e7c898387.86327574_code-capacity-and-control-ai-algorithmic-governance-and-political-accountability-in-african-states2.pdf Files (777.8 kB) Name Size Download all article.html md5:43c49c55e72d0fa87cde979a4e68c0d0 462.6 kB Download final_69e76e7c898387.86327574_code-capacity-and-control-ai-algorithmic-governance-and-political-accountability-in-african-states2.pdf md5:9697e4ec5e6fe7f0b3e2827d5ad1cd19 310.7 kB Preview Download review_bundle.zip md5:14dc8c04c6ff4ec2d5fa10ceb5fd0033 4.5 kB Preview Download Additional details Related works Is identical to Journal article: https://parj.africa/ajictis_egdt/article/view/32306 (URL) 22 Views 17 Downloads Show more details All versions This version Views Total views 22 22 Downloads Total downloads 17 17 Data volume Total data volume 5.0 MB 5.0 MB More info on how stats are collected.... Versions External resources Indexed in OpenAIRE Communities Keywords and subjects Keywords Arti ficial intelligence digital governance accountability Africa surveillance algorithmic Rwanda Kenya Details DOI DOI Badge DOI 10.5281/zenodo.19680223 Markdown [](https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19680223) reStructuredText .. image:: https://zenodo.org/badge/DOI/10.5281/zenodo.19680223.svg :target: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19680223 HTML <a href="https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19680223"><img src="https://zenodo.org/badge/DOI/10.5281/zenodo.19680223.svg" alt="DOI"></a> Image URL https://zenodo.org/badge/DOI/10.5281/zenodo.19680223.svg Target URL https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19680223 Resource type Journal article Publisher Zenodo Published in Journal of E-Governance and Digital Transformation in Africa, 1(1), 2026. Languages English Rights License Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International The Creative Commons Attribution license allows re-distribution and re-use of a licensed work on the condition that the creator is appropriately credited. Read more Citation Export Technical metadata Created April 21, 2026 Modified April 21, 2026 Jump up About About Policies Infrastructure Principles Projects Roadmap Contact Blog Blog Support Help FAQ Developers REST API OAI-PMH Contribute GitHub Donate Funded by Powered by CERN Data Centre & InvenioRDM Status Privacy policy Cookie policy Terms of Use This site uses cookies. Find out more on how we use cookies Accept all cookies Accept only essential cookies