Jeffrey Smith, founding director of Vanguard Africa, a D.C.-based group that has worked with human rights activists in Zimbabwe, said: “The life of Robert Mugabe was the tragic tale of a freedom fighter turned tyrant — a man wholly corrupted by the power granted to him and unrepentant for the violence he inflicted on generations of Zimbabweans who yearned for nothing more than their basic rights and dignity,” Smith told the Blade. “A thorough devastation that undoubtedly set the country back for generations.”
Vanguard Africa Director Jeffrey Smith on the Power Corrupts Podcast (August 8, 2019)
When you think of “heists,” a few things probably come to mind. Precious artwork, stolen off the wall of a museum after an elaborate scheme to bypass the laser security system. Ocean’s 11 hitting a Las Vegas Casino—and getting away with it. Or maybe a getaway car and masked bank robbers. But governments commit heists, too, and they are not just wild and weird; they also often get away with it. In this episode, we look at three different heists related to governments. The first, the North Korean bank heist, involves an audacious attempt to steal a billion dollars from the Bangladesh Central Bank without anyone noticing. The second, a heist carried out by former Gambian dictator Yahya Jammeh, involved the looting of nearly a billion dollars during his twenty-two years in power. Over that period, he pledged to rule for a billion years, announced that he had found a cure for HIV/AIDS involving peanuts, bananas, and condensed milk, and had an obsession with mayonnaise. And the third and final heist is called the Blue Diamond Affair, a stranger-than-fiction tale of a Thai gardener, a vacuum cleaner bag, Saudi jewels, murder, kidnapping, and an unsolved mystery that continues to sour diplomatic relations between Thailand and Saudi Arabia.
African Governments Rush to Hire Trump-Linked Lobbyists (Foreign Policy – August 6)
“Over the past several years, there has been a hugely significant increase in the number of U.S. lobbyists representing foreign nationals, many of them connected to the Trump administration,” said Jeffrey Smith, the executive director of Vanguard Africa, which supports democracy movements in the region. “Many of Trump’s fundraisers and supporters have struck it rich in this sector, often working on behalf of the world’s worst human rights abusers,” said Smith, who has done work on behalf of Cameroonian opposition figures. He cited Zimbabwe, which hired the Trump-linked lobbying group Ballard Partners in a bid to scrap long-standing U.S. sanctions, as well as Clout’s work for Cameroon.
“In Washington, this sort of access to Trump, whether perceived or real, is a hugely lucrative endeavor,” Smith said. It’s difficult to say how such lobbying efforts have yielded results yet in Zimbabwe’s case, as it is still under U.S. sanctions.
Prominent Investigative Journalist Arrested in Tanzania (Financial Times – July 30)
“[Mr Kabendera’s] abduction is part of a larger pattern in the country that should send alarm bells blaring” said Jeffrey Smith the founding director of Vanguard Africa, a Washington based non-profit organisation that says it supports ethical leadership in Africa. “Over the past several years, basic freedoms and human rights have been violated with alarming frequency and impunity.”
Can Civil Society Help Rewire Politics to Africa’s Advantage? (Democracy Digest – July 12)
Ethiopia’s Year of Reckoning (Foreign Policy – July 12)
Nicki Minaj Praised for Pulling out of Saudi Arabia Concert after Furious Backlash (Newsweek - July 9)
Sudan Militia Chief Hires Canadian Lobbying Firm for $6 Million (Financial Times – June 30)
"Pocketing millions of dollars from, and representing the selfish interests of, ruthless dictators has become a lucrative business,” said Jeffrey Smith, the founding director of Vanguard Africa, a Washington based non-profit organisation that says it supports ethical leadership in Africa. “It’s an upside-down world in which priorities are misplaced, the people suffer, and abusive leaders inevitably grow stronger and more emboldened.”
Zimbabwe’s Mnangagwa Hires Second U.S. Public Relations Firm for $1 Million (ZimLive – June 18)
Jeffrey Smith, a US-based international human rights activist, said on Twitter: “An unsolicited piece of advice to Mnangagwa, Moyo and the government of Zimbabwe: respecting the human rights of your citizens – regardless of political affiliation – and implementing your own constitution and regional conventions costs nothing. It’s free. Try it.”
Democracy Desperately Needs a Reboot (Nation of Change – June 13)
Move back a few steps to get the bigger picture and the retreat of democracy looks like a global rout. Here, for instance, is Nic Cheeseman’s and Jeffrey Smith’s take on Africa in Foreign Affairs:
IN TANZANIA, PRESIDENT JOHN MAGUFULI HAS CLAMPED DOWN ON THE OPPOSITION AND CENSORED THE MEDIA. HIS ZAMBIAN COUNTERPART, PRESIDENT EDGAR LUNGU, RECENTLY ARRESTED THE MAIN OPPOSITION LEADER ON TRUMPED-UP CHARGES OF TREASON AND IS SEEKING TO EXTEND HIS STAY IN POWER TO A THIRD TERM. THIS REFLECTS A BROADER TREND. ACCORDING TO FREEDOM HOUSE, A THINK TANK, JUST 11 PERCENT OF THE CONTINENT IS POLITICALLY “FREE,” AND THE AVERAGE LEVEL OF DEMOCRACY, UNDERSTOOD AS RESPECT FOR POLITICAL RIGHTS AND CIVIL LIBERTIES, FELL IN EACH OF THE LAST 14 YEARS.