A Phoenix Rises

By Scott Morgan

There is a term that is often used in the world of Professional Wrestling that goes "How can I miss you if you won't go away". A recent statement released via social media bears truth to this. 

Eebeen Barlow who founded one of the famous PSCs (Private Security Companies) back in the 1980s Executive Outcomes has announced that after a hiatus of more than two decades that by request the company will resume its activities. 

The company had created a black eye on its reputation due to its involvement in the Sierra Leone Civil War during the early 1990s but there are crisis spots where the company made what has to be considered a positive impact. One of the major successes has to be when the group trained the Angolan Army which ended up being the factor that changed the tide of the War against UNITA which was led by Jonas Savimbi.

Other projects that the Company undertook include covert surveillance on behalf of the Diamond Company DeBeers in Namibia and Botswana and Training the Militaries of not just Angola but also Mozambique, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Uganda. 

After South Africa passed a law that regulated the PMCs in the Country that allowed the industry to work for foreign governments only with approval of Pretoria, Mr. Barlow decided to shut down his company. Most recently he was chairman of STTEP which is another company he founded. One of its clients was Nigeria and his company was tasked to deal with the Boko Haram insurgency. 

Imagine the surprise a short time ago when Mr. Barlow posted on his Facebook that after some considerations he was announcing the rebirth of Executive Outcomes. It appears that some African States have approached him about restarting EO. 

The situation in Northern Mozambique appears to be the reason for the return of the company. Already the company has reportedly established two key partnerships and will endeavor to expose media and intelligence actors who thrive on lying for secret payments and to investigate academics and scholars that create fiction and publish deception.

This brings to mind another mantra that is often heard when the UN Security Council meets to discuss any African Crisis. That is African Problems need African Solutions. It didn't work two decades ago. Hopefully it will this time. 

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