Jeffrey Smith, Vanguard Africa spew malicious propaganda against Rwanda

Lately, Rwanda haters are trying hard to foster a false narrative masking the character assassination targeting Rwandan President Paul Kagame and his leadership. But no matter how much mud they throw at him, their efforts have not brought the dividends hoped for. They are all grasping at straws.

It’s in this light that one should read the recent attempt by Jeffrey Smith’s Op-Ed titled “When the Luster Fades: Paul Kagame’s Violent Repression Takes a Toll,” published on November 1. The disclaimer by Smith - that the writer prefered anonymity for fear of reprisals – is just a red herring. There is no doubt that Smith is the author of the article and he feared because he could not defend his attacks on Kagame.

Who is Jeffrey Smith and what’s the main goal of Vanguard Africa? Its website states that it was founded in 2016. As noted, Vanguard Africa represents the synthesis of best practices in campaign management, strategic communications and public advocacy with the mission-driven focus of a pro-democracy organization. “In emergent situations we also act as a rapid response platform, quickly activating our private and public networks to highlight arrests and unlawful detentions of pro-democracy leaders in real time in order to raise awareness, save lives and keep our partners safe from further abuse,” it reads.

But it is common knowledge that this organisation has been involved in subversive activities causing political turmoil all around Africa. The good saviour is a demon incarnate. As for Smith, he is a genocide denier who doesn’t hide his animosity against Rwanda and its leadership. His article is a mere reproduction of hostile banalities and there is nothing new other than falsehoods and malicious propaganda against Rwanda and its leaders. The attacks and his malice are nothing new.

But President Kagame keeps shining. He is an iconic leader in Africa and beyond. Vanguard Africa’s attacks follow the same script that Kagame’s detractors use. Another falsehood in Smith’s article is the allegation that in 2015 Kagame “forced through a change in the country’s constitution to extend its rule.”

The President did not change the constitution. The will of majority Rwandans requested it because they appreciated his achievements. Thinking otherwise is ignoring what happened. Furthermore, this constitutional amendment was submitted to a popular plebiscite, and it received overwhelming approval by Rwandans. Therefore, it is cynical and misleading for Vanguard Africa to accuse Kagame of conducting what it calls “a constitutional coup.”

It also talks of “a spate of successful and attempted assassinations on foreign soil of regime critics” and also “a series of high-profile politicians inside the country who attempted to challenge the regime” without providing any evidence. People should treat this accusation with utmost contempt.

About the arrests mentioned in the article, Vanguard Africa talks of Victoire Ingabire and Diane Rwigara as “women leaders.” This is preposterous as these women were arrested for committing serious crimes punishable by law. In Rwanda, no one is above the law. The same applies to the darling of the West, Paul Rusesabagina, a convicted terrorist mastermind.

Rusesabagina’s trial by the High Court was done in public and was streamed alive on various platforms. To call it “a sham show trial” is a misnomer and a mockery of Rwanda’s judiciary. This trial was closely followed by different diplomatic representatives accredited to Rwanda, including those of the US and Belgium.

Smith’s article is indication that Rwanda detractors are deluded in thinking that the Rwandan government would have abdicated its responsibilities to try a man accused of serious terrorist charges, because he is “a  European citizen as well as a permanent resident of the United States;” for fear that it would impact on Kagame’s reputation.

Like most of Rusesabagina’s lobbyists, the writer claimed his arrest was a move to silence dissent, turning a blind to the enormity of Rusesabagina’s proven involvement in acts of terrorism inside Rwanda which claimed many lives and damaged property.

Where the empathy is for the victims of attacks by Rusesabagina’s armed militias? Why would Vanguard Africa care since its prime objective is to whitewash Rusesabagina’s crimes? But the most perplexing is the allegation is what the writer calls “arrest and brutal killing of Kizito Mihigo – the talented genocide survivor...”

For most Rwandans, especially genocide survivors, Mihigo’s songs peddled a double genocide theory, very much cherished by the genocidaires and allies like Smith. The question for Smith is: how many people commit suicide in the US prison? Should every death in prison be blamed on the US government?

Available statistics are very shocking. According to Prison Initiative, in 2018, state prisons reported 4,135 deaths (not including the 25 people executed in state prisons), the highest number on record since BJS began collecting mortality data in 2001. Between 2016 and 2018, the prison mortality rate jumped from 303 to a record 344 per 100,000 people, a shameful superlative.

It may seem like a foregone conclusion that more people, serving decades or lifetimes, will die in prison. But for at least 935 people, a sentence for a nonviolent property, drug, or public order offense became a death sentence in 2018, it is noted.

Charity starts at home, they say, and Vanguard Africa and its cabal should first deal with the tragedy inside the US instead of using Mihigo’s case to attack Kagame.  Smith and Co also want readers to believe the recent arrests of members of the non-registered party DLAFA Umurinzi of Victoire Umuhoza Ingabire, together with accomplice journalist Theoneste Nsengiyumva of Umubavu TV, as well as of YouTuber Rashid Hakuzimana were done in preparation for the 2024 presidential elections.

The Rwanda Bureau of Investigation has enough evidence to prove that members of DALFA Umurinzi were involved in subversive activities aimed at overthrowing a legitimate government. Why can’t Smith and company wait for their case to be brought before the courts? The activities of these individuals are like what Vanguard Africa has supported in countries like Zambia, Tanzania, Burundi, Kenya, Djibouti, and Gambia.

Hakuzimana is not “an independent politician” and Vanguard Africa should know that Rwanda is not a junkyard. Hakuzimana is an unrepentant genocide denier and acolyte of the genocidal Hutu Power ideology. Lately, he tried to revive old ethnic divisions using social media platforms in peddling genocide revisionism and denial. This is not the correct way of using free speech. In Rwanda, there are laws against genocide denial and its trivialisation. Whoever breaks these laws is punished.

Rwandans worked hard to achieve national unity and reconciliation using different initiatives including Itorero and Ndimunyarwanda programme. It is unacceptable for any white supremacist to denigrate them. I also wonder why the anonymous author brought back the discredited Draft UN Mapping Report on the DRC, a report that was never published because of its controversial methodology.

The different angles of advice offered by the writer at the end reflect the usual condescending attitude some in the West still harbour against Rwandans, and Africans in general. Rwandans have come of age and are able to make correct decisions about their future as they have shown so far.

The bleak prediction about the alleged “regime’s crumbling image, both at home and abroad” will remain a pipe dream. Kagame remains one of the most admired leaders in Africa. Much to the changrin of Vanguard Africa, Kagame is and will remain one of the visionary leaders Africa has ever had. Vaguard Africa has resolutely stood with the masterminds of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi, presenting them as “critics” of the Rwandan government. Vaguard Africa should be, among others, prosecuted for its support to genocide revisionism and denial.