Kenya demands accountability from Ford Foundation over protest funding claims

Foreign Affairs PS Korir Sing'oei. [The Standard]

Kenya has written a protest letter to the US-based Ford Foundation, demanding an accountability report over allegations that some of its grantees are influencing ongoing demonstrations.

In a communiqué seen by The Standard, the government claims the foundation provided at least Sh752 million in funding to 16 Kenyan organisations between April 2023 and May 2024, with an additional "unexplained" Sh194 million raised in the last three months.

The government has identified several non-governmental organisations (NGOs) receiving funds, including the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC), The Institute of Social Accountability (TISA), and the Africa Centre for Open Governance, which received Sh78.6 million and Sh26.2 million, respectively.

Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing'oei has requested that the Ford Foundation disclose all its grantees in Kenya over the past year, along with the approved programs and budgets for the last three months.

"You will concede that the above funds disbursed to non-state recipients are substantial and must be prudently used to serve legitimate purposes or risk abuse to aid nefarious ends," Singo’ei stated. "While we recognize the importance of maintaining an open civic space and respect for the principles of open government that we both share, the actions of some of your grantees contravene the laws of Kenya, including the prohibition against incitement, hate speech, insurrection, and mobilization using disinformation," he added in a letter addressed to the Foundation’s President, Darren Walker.

Demands

The Kenyan government has made several demands of the Ford Foundation:

1. Provide full details of their grantees over the last year, the approved programs, budgets for each project, the amounts disbursed so far, and what is planned for future disbursement.
2. Furnish reports from its grantees detailing the activities carried out, the costs of these activities, and their beneficiaries.
3. Share a report on Ford Foundation's compliance with its Non-Lobbying Policy or a statement regarding the policy’s applicability to its activities in Kenya.
4. Prescribe any sanctions the Foundation will impose for breaches of the law or its internal policies.

 Other Kenyan organisations funded by the Foundation include Africa Uncensored, Centre for Resource Mobilization and Development, Open Institute Trust, Transparency International, National Coalition of Human Rights Defenders, Mzalendo Trust, and Usikimye, among others.

Ruto accuses Ford Foundation of funding protests

Earlier in the week, President William Ruto alleged that the foreign entity was sponsoring "anarchy" and funding anti-government protests, an accusation the Foundation rejected.

"Those who are sponsoring the violence, we know them, and I want to call out those who are behind the anarchy in Kenya. Shame on them… The young people in Kenya are not available to cause violence and anarchy in their own country. If they (Ford Foundation) are not interested in democracy in Kenya, they should either style up or ship out," said Ruto.

The Ford Foundation responded in a statement saying: "We do not fund or sponsor the recent protests against the finance bill."