Eight viruses are reported from cowpeas in Africa. Three are beetle‐transmitted (cowpea yellow mosaic comovirus, cowpea mottle virus (carmovirus?), and southern bean mosaic sobemovirus), two are aphid‐borne (cowpea aphid‐borne mosaic potyvirus and cucumber mosaic cucumovirus), two are whiteflytransmitted (cowpea golden mosaic virus (geminivirus?) and cowpea mild mottle carlavirus), and the vector of the eighth (sunn‐hemp mosaic tobamovirus) is still unknown. Cowpea viruses are described from lowland, humid and sub‐humid West Africa, as well as from mid‐altitude ecological zones mainly found in eastern and southern Africa. Wherever facilities are limited and detailed characterization is not possible, a simple procedure using a combination of serology (agar‐gel diffusion test), inoculation to test plants, and vector transmission studies, is proposed for the identification of the cowpea viruses reported so far from Africa. The possibilities of controlling these viruses are briefly discussed.