International Community Wakes up to Cameroon’s Spiraling Anglophone Crisis (Deutsche Welle – August 30)

"Cameroon embodies the worst humanitarian crisis in the world, that most people are unaware of," Jeffrey Smith, the executive director of Vanguard Africa told DW.

Vanguard is a nonprofit organization that partners with African leaders and democracy activists to consolidate democratic gains and advocate for free and fair elections in Africa.

Political observers believe that the arguably worsening crisis in Cameroon is largely due to the Biya regime's use of violence and brutality as a first resort.

"By immediately resorting to violence, Biya and the country's governing elite, dumped petrol on a long-smoldering fire, transforming the conflict into the runaway conflagration we see today," Smith says. 

In Zimbabwe, Signs Are Not Pointing to Investor Confidence (Bulawayo 24 News – August 15)

"Many people talk about the plundering and the looting, human rights abuses that took place under Mugabe's rule. He was not alone in that. While the regime talks about Zimbabwe being open for business, this is the same group of people that systematically destroyed Zimbabwe's economy over nearly 40 years," said Jeffrey Smith, executive director of the nonprofit group Vanguard Africa.

Cameroon’s Crisis Deepens (Mail and Guardian – August 10)

According to Jeffrey Smith, head of Vanguard Africa, an advocacy group: “Since August 2016 especially, the acts of violence [by the armed groups] have become more routine and more brazen…at this point, it almost seems as if armed groups and government forces are actively bidding to outdo one another in terms of shock value.”

Opposition Leader Tendai Biti Asylum Case Tests Zimbabwe-Zambia Relations (Voice of America – August 8)

Jeffrey Smith, executive director of Vanguard Africa, says he has been putting pressure on U.S. authorities to address the issue. "What we are trying to do is raise the necessary international alarm bells, to keep attention focused on his case, as it's not isolated. It is part of a wider crackdown on dissenting voices, on political opposition, and certainly on civil society with reports we have seen coming in of people going into hiding."

Mnangagwa’s Victory May Not Be Sweet Following Contested Polls, Killing of Civilians (Voice of America – August 3)

Executive Director, Jeffrey Smith of Vanguard Africa concurs. “If you go through the litany of concerns both in the lead up to the elections, during the elections and after the election, namely the brutality, the violence that we witnessed yesterday, indicates that the vote was deeply flawed and does not reflect the true will of Zimbabweans.”

Meet the Olivia Pope of Kenya (Ozy.com - August 1)

PR is invaluable for changing the African narrative, according to Christopher Harvin, partner at PR firm Sanitas International and co-founder of Vanguard Africa, a pro-democracy nonprofit. “It’s critical,” he says, “to navigate the next steps of economic and social development as the continent strives to elevate its global standing, shape its brand and offset its critics.”