Order on civic education donor funds in Kenya misleading

It was an unprecedented statement from the President, reminiscent of the notorious single party regime of KANU. During his Jamhuri Day speech, President Uhuru Kenyatta warned foreign countries against meddling in the forthcoming General Election, saying that any civic education funds should be directed at the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) and not through the civil society.

According to a list released by the NGOs Coordination Board, traditional development partners like the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the European Union, the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID), the Norwegian Aid Agency, the UN Development Programme, and the Finnish Government among others have allocated up to Sh14 billion for civic education in the run up to the elections.

Now, for the government to claim the money is aimed at influencing the outcome of the elections expected in August next year is belittling the intelligence of Kenyans. Civic education is a wide-ranging exercise that seeks to empower the people make informed decisions and exercise their democratic rights in a peaceful manner. Let us analyse a typical initiative like USAID’s Uraia Trust Civic Education Programme. The programme was designed to respond to the hate campaigns that preceded the 2007/2008 post-election violence and provide quality civic education to help Kenyans pursue their rights under the 2010 Constitution.

Uraia has worked with the IEBC, the Kenya Institute of Education, the Council of Governors, community based youth and women groups, the media and civil society organisations. Working with all these stakeholders needs massive financing. Therefore, contrary to the perception created by the government, a fair chunk of this money will be channelled to State actors, including the IEBC, and various ministries and public corporations who have significant mandates in the country’s electoral process.

Truth be told, the country’s democratisation process, including quest for the rule of law and constitutionalism, has been made largely possible due to longstanding financial and material support from foreign donors, particularly the US, EU and a couple of Scandinavian countries. The question begs, why is the government openly running scared this time round? What has changed that makes the government place sanctions on these funds by foreign and international bodies?