"There have been several complaints of corruption practices by the two Chinese companies in Africa, which they have always denied. But with conviction of officials, ZTE and Huawei have to clear their names," said Edith Mwale, telecom analyst from African Center for ICT Development.

The Chinese government has funded several telecom projects in Africa through loans whose conditions are that supply and installation contracts are given to Chinese companies. ZTE and Huawei have been awarded several contracts by African governments and telecom operators to supply infrastructure support, laying fiber-optic cables and supplying devices such as modems and handsets.

Corruption has however become rife in Africa's telecom market as international telecom companies compete for supply contracts in the region's telecom sector.

In 2010, Germany-based Siemens lost the right to bid for World Bank-funded telecom projects in Africa after corruption allegations surrounded the company's acquisition of a supply contract in Nigeria. The company was found guilty of paying more than $12.7 million to three former communications ministers in Nigeria.

ZTE and Huawei, however, have faced more corruption allegations in Africa than other companies.