Tanzania’s ruling party seeks to rid itself of the ‘troublesome’ Tundu Lissu (Daily Maverick - August 11)

Jeffrey Smith, executive director of pro-democracy non-profit Vanguard Africa based in Washington, DC, says that while Tundu Lissu’s case has a high profile, people outside the country have not come to terms with the level of repression in Tanzania.

“Opposition members can’t hold private meetings in their homes,” he says. “And when it does happen, attendees are beaten unconscious, they’re hunted down by authorities, they’re arrested on frivolous charges.

“It really seems all steps are being taken to muzzle the opposition ahead of the October election. The regime knows they can’t win fairly and are doing everything in their power to steal the election before it happens.”

Canadian PR firm polished Rwanda's image as the country's government was accused of backing violent militia (Investigative Journalism Foundation – July 28)

PR firms that work with authoritarian regimes “are helping to sanitize egregious human rights abuses, political repression and violence,” said Jeffrey Smith, executive director of pro-democracy advisory firm Vanguard Africa. “ And in the case of Rwanda, the killing of critics, the disappearance of opposition members, the complete muzzling of any semblance of independent media or human rights.”

Two Year’s After Niger Coup, the human rights situation has ‘spiraled’ (Radio France International – July 26)

Jeffrey Smith, executive director of  the pro-democracy group Vanguard Africa, told RFI: "As expected, the human rights situation in Niger – like other Sahelian countries under military control – has unequivocally spiralled. Civic space has shrunk considerably and violations of civil and political rights, like arbitrary detention, for example, have become the norm." … "As it stands today, President Bazoum and his wife are being held hostage by a wholly unaccountable, unelected military regime, and this is actually the core of the problem.”

East Africa: Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania tighten grip on protest, democracy (The Africa Report – July 9)

“There is definitely a convergence of authoritarian tactics across East Africa,” says Jeffrey Smith, executive director of Vanguard Africa. “We’ve seen the broad criminalisation of free speech and assembly , basic human rights, all carried out with impunity .” Smith and others argue that autocrats are not only learning from one another, but also exploiting a permissive international environment. “Washington, in particular, has shown indifference and an unwillingness to speak out, condemn or threaten consequences for ongoing abuses. That silence is being interpreted as consent,” Smith tells The Africa Report.

What’s behind Trump’s mini‑summit with coastal West Africa leaders? (The Africa Report – July 4)

“We have been working to strengthen relationships between the Government of Liberia and US policymakers for the past year, so this is an important extension of that effort,” says Jeffrey Smith, whose firm Vanguard Africa has been lobbying for the foreign ministry since last June. “It’s also an extension of Liberia’s critical role in West Africa, which includes its recent ascension to the UN Security Council, and its democratic progress in a region otherwise plagued by military coups and democratic backsliding.”

Statement: As Kagame Seeks Peace with the DRC, He Must Also Declare Peace with Political Rivals

On June 26, Vanguard Africa joined a global chorus of civil society groups to raise awareness about President Paul Kagame and his regime’s long history of imprisoning, disappearing, and murdering his critics with impunity. This must end. Democratic governments around the world should expect more from an ally that depends heavily on foreign aid – they must demand that Kagame respect the rule of law and stop his relentless campaign to silence dissidents both within and outside Rwanda.

Trump Considers Deporting Migrants to Rwanda After the UK Decides Not To (Bloomberg – May 29)

“It’s just astounding to me that the US government, regardless of their disregard for human rights at this moment in time, would send immigrants or asylum-seekers to a country like Rwanda,” says Jeffrey Smith, executive director of Vanguard Africa, a pro-democracy nonprofit. Earlier this year, he points out, the State Department issued an elevated travel advisory for the country, advising US citizens to exercise increased caution due to the potential for armed violence. Its neighbor to the west, Congo, is also struggling with a Rwandan proxy militia, M23. Trump’s administration wants to negotiate a peace deal between Rwanda and Congo, but to send migrants to Rwanda now, Smith says, “just makes no sense at all.”

Trump’s Deportation Plan is Similar to Britain’s Costly Rwanda Failure (Washington Post – May 9)

Analysts argue that the Trump administration is giving cover to Kagame, whose government has backed a rebel faction in neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo that is implicated in atrocities, amid growing Western scrutiny into his rule. “This is merely a ploy to garner positive headlines and a cynical way in which to compel Western governments, like the U.S., to look the other way when inevitable human rights abuses are committed,” said Jeffrey Smith, executive director of the pro-democracy nonprofit Vanguard Africa.