A few days before the general elections in Kenya, false information (also known as "fake news") continues to circulate on social networks. To try to educate the Kenyans, Facebook has put in place a strategy but the consequences of these false information on the elections seem already inevitable.
Founder of Rwanda’s Only Opposition Party Believes His Time as Leader has Come (International Business Times – August 2)
Kenya’s Social Media Election: Attack Ads and Data Mining (AFP – July 17)
Zambia: President Lungu Ratchets up Repression, Calls for State of Emergency (Daily Maverick – July 6)
Jeffrey Smith, executive director of Vanguard Africa, a nonprofit group that advocates for good governance and free and fair elections in Africa, says the warning signs of “a significant and troubling democratic reversal” in Zambia have long been evident in the successive Patriotic Front governments.
The party has been in power since 2011.
“That President Lungu has been allowed to ratchet up the repression without any real consequence or condemnation has further emboldened his heavy-handedness,” he told Daily Maverick. “History shows, unequivocally, that despots grow strength in the darkness and that is precisely what we are seeing unfold in Zambia.”
Jeffrey Smith is a Thorn in the Side of Africa’s Dinosaur Presidents (UN Dispatch – June 26)
My guest today Jeffrey Smith helps spotlight Africa’s “presidents for life.” His organization, Vanguard Africa, is very new but they already have one success under their belt– assisting the peaceful transition of power from The Gambia’s longtime ruler. He now has his sites set on Africa’s second longest ruling leader, Paul Biya of Cameroon.
We kick off with a discussion of the situation in Cameroon and have great digressions about the Zimbabwe, some deficiencies of the NGO community in D.C. and, of course, the Gambia.
Jeff discusses how and why he came to focus on issues of democracy and human rights in Africa and how he found inspiration from the hero of an anti-apartheid movement in South Africa. If you want to learn how foreign NGOs can help local democracy activists topple longstanding “presidents for life” then have a listen to this Global Dispatches podcast episode.
Advocates for Good Governance in Africa (Huffington Post – June 15)
Jeffrey Smith, the executive director of Vanguard Africa, was one of the international observers closely monitoring the election in Gambia. Smith, who has been an advocate for human rights and democracy in Africa throughout his career, started Vanguard Africa “to shed a necessary spotlight on the need for free and fair processes and why they’re so important to democracy in the short and the long term, particularly in countries like the Gambia that don’t necessarily get the attention we think they deserve.”
Rise of African Dynasties a Sign of Dysfunction (Business Day – June 12)
Jeffrey Smith, executive director of nonprofit organisation Vanguard Africa, says the centralization of power within dynasties has a profoundly negative effect on the state of democracy in Africa. "What we have today in many instances are family fiefdoms in which the control of state power, and the massive unprecedented looting that often accompanies it, is impoverishing the very citizens these leaders have sworn to protect," he says.
Why a Light-Hearted Text Message Led to a Terrorism Conviction in Cameroon (World Politics Review – June 1)
Cameroon’s tendency to cry terrorism when cracking down on dissent is understandable for the simple reason that outside protest in such cases is often muted or nonexistent. Jeffrey Smith, founding director of the Washington-based pro-democracy group Vanguard Africa, notes a similar phenomenon in Ethiopia, which has been under a state of emergency since October.
In Cameroon, Smith says, invoking terrorism grants “a dubious patina of legitimacy” to the repressive tactics Biya’s government has long embraced. “This notable shift away from overt brutality to legal repression, or what some have termed ‘rule by law,’ doesn't come with the same level of international scrutiny or criticism,” he says, “and autocrats like Paul Biya have certainly learned this lesson.”
Statement on the Upcoming General Elections in Kenya
Clarification on the Involvement of Vanguard Africa
Vanguard Africa is a nonprofit organization committed to advancing ethical leadership and driving support for free, fair, and credible elections throughout Africa, including in Kenya.
Consistent with this mission, Vanguard Africa hosted former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga and his delegation for a range of high-level meetings in Washington, DC from March 13-16, 2017. These meetings focused on the importance of the upcoming general elections and why the international community must support Kenyan voters who are collectively calling for free, fair, fully transparent and peaceful elections. Our legal filing with the United States Department of Justice, submitted on March 26, 2017, provides detailed and up-to-date information on our involvement with Mr. Odinga and his delegation.
We will not respond to, or otherwise be distracted by, every false allegation that is printed, but we believe it is important to establish several baseline facts about our support to date. Vanguard Africa has never received money from, nor dispersed money to, Mr. Odinga or his political party. Any correspondence circulating on our letterhead, not disclosed in our original filing with the U.S. Department of Justice, are fabrications and the claims made therein patently false.
Vanguard Africa will continue spotlighting the mounting calls for free, fair, and transparent elections throughout Africa, as well as in Kenya. We encourage anyone who believes in this pivotal cause to connect with us through our website or social media and help our team continue to build support for credible elections across the African continent.