Civil-rights organisations in South Africa have begun coordinated protests against the rapid growth of data centres owned by American firms, marking one of the continent’s first organized attempts to curb AI-related infrastructure. The movement seeks a nationwide halt to new constructions until community impacts are fully assessed.
South Africa currently hosts the highest number of data centres on the continent, largely controlled by US hyperscalers such as Microsoft, Amazon and Google, together with operators like Equinix and Digital Realty. A McKinsey analysis projects that the continent’s compute demand could rise to roughly 2.2 gigawatts by 2030, five times today’s level.
Microsoft has pledged 5.4 billion rand in funding through 2027 to broaden its digital and AI services in the country, while Amazon Web Services announced a $1.5 billion investment through 2029 to extend AI capabilities across Africa. Equinix disclosed a $438 million commitment for South African projects, a move described by Rachel Adams of the Global Center on AI Governance as a “strategic moment for African countries.”
Housing Assembly, together with the UK-based nonprofit Foxglove, lodged a legal challenge in August against two Equinix proposals in Cape Town, urging the South African Human Rights Commission to intervene and demand a pause on hyperscale expansion. The groups also ask for mandatory disclosure of water and electricity consumption and for tangible benefits to local residents. Equinix’s market value has risen over 30 % since last December, reaching $99.36 billion as of mid-September.
Opponents argue that the planned 174-megawatt Equinix facilities would consume more than 4.4 billion litres of water each year, an amount comparable to the annual usage of 18 000 households, at a time when the region remains water-stressed. Kashiefa Achmat of Housing Assembly warned that residents already endure long water queues and electricity cuts, and that a massive data centre would “jump the queue” for scarce resources.
Similar resistance has emerged elsewhere, including Kenyan communities near a proposed 1-gigawatt centre backed by the UAE-based G42 and Microsoft, and farmer protests in India and Indigenous actions in Brazil. Energy and climate scholar Daniel Kammen noted that large tech firms often negotiate opaque deals with governments, while IFC data-centre lead Obinna Isiadinso cautioned that Africa’s current capacity of about 409 megawatts, less than one percent of global supply, must grow responsibly to avoid harming vulnerable populations.