Jeffrey Smith, a pro-democracy campaigner and founder of Vanguard Africa, argues that Washington’s policies toward Rwanda remain largely unchanged. They rely on an outdated narrative that ignores the country’s authoritarianism. Smith suggests that these decisions stem from a lack of creativity and a limited understanding of regional dynamics.

The leaderless Gen Z protest movements are both a product of necessity and a natural evolution, says Jeffrey Smith, director of the pro-democracy nonprofit, Vanguard Africa. ... Smith praises the wave of leaderless protests, citing Kenya, where the “typical state brutality directed at protesters has failed to thwart or otherwise deter the real momentum for change” . The organic yearning for reform goes well beyond a particular leader or group of individuals at the top, he adds.

In an interview, Jeffrey Smith, the executive director of Vanguard Africa, a non-profit group that works with activists to support free and fair elections, said: “In Rwanda, there is freedom of expression. But that freedom is limited to expressing support for Paul Kagame and his ruling party — whether coerced or otherwise.” “These latest so-called ‘election’ results — a sort of performative art perfected by Kigali — clearly establish the Kagame dictatorship as among the most effective and effectively brutal police states of the 21st century.”

Our director, Jeffrey Smith, speaks about Kenya’s Gen Z Protests and their wide ranging impacts: "That young Kenyans continue to courageously stand up, facing down riot police and live bullets to demand their dignity will certainly induce a ripple effect beyond Kenya’s borders ... This is a new generation of youth who are better connected, more sophisticated, and perhaps more worldly and knowledgeable when compared to their predecessors."

“The Liberian foreign ministry has brokered a deal with a Vanguard Africa, a non-profit whose co-founders include veteran US Democratic Party strategist Joe Trippi, and which features Kenyan whistleblower John Githongo on its board. … The meetings organized in Washington, DC were ‘crucial for strengthening bilateral relations between Liberia and the US, as well as attracting much-needed private direct foreign investment to Liberia,’ said the Boakai government. … Vanguard Africa cut its teeth supporting Adama Barrow’s presidential campaign in Gambia in 2017 which saw off long-time military leader Yahya Jammeh. The group, which promises ‘a holistic program of support to strengthen the capacity and impact of pro-democracy leaders’, has built a stable of clients, including Congo-Kinshasa’s Martin Fayulu, but has rarely acted for a sitting government.”

Put simply, the proposition that Western countries need to prioritize short-term 'security' and economic interests above democratic values and principles is entirely flawed and backward, says Jeffrey Smith, executive director of the Washington-based nonprofit Vanguard Africa.

Jeffrey Smith, founder of Vanguard Africa, a pro-democracy outfit in Washington, bemoans what he considers Mr Biden’s dismal failure to speak out robustly against human-rights abuses in countries such as Ethiopia, Rwanda, Swaziland and Uganda. America’s overriding policy nowadays, he says, is “not to rock the boat”. … “I’ve never experienced such low perceptions of our foreign policy by Africans,” says Mr Smith.

Jeffrey Smith, executive director of the pro-democracy nonprofit Vanguard Africa, speaks to BBC’s Audrey Brown regarding the latest developments in Togo, including President Faure Gnassingbe’s ‘autocratic consolidation' following constitutional changes that will allow him to serve until 2033.

Jeffrey Smith, a speaker at the Forum 2000 Conference, and the Founding Director of Vanguard Africa, offers a concise reflection on the recent elections in Senegal and what the results may tell us about the future of the country.

“We cannot allow the darkness of the past, nor the sins of previous generations, provide cover for today’s atrocities,” says Jeffrey Smith, a US-based democracy promoter who runs the advocacy firm Vanguard Africa. “The callous disregard that Washington exhibited in 1994 is alive and well today, and in many ways still shackles policymakers in a manner that allows violence and impunity to perpetuate.”