Africa Uncensored & 15 Ford Foundation Beneficiaries Ruto Is Now After [LIST]

Following President William Ruto's bold verbal attack on the Ford Foundation, an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare, his administration has stepped up the scrutiny on the foundation by writing to the US-based foundation requesting more details on 16 of its grant recipients.

The latest move in this high-stakes confrontation between the Kenyan government and the foundation saw the Ministry of Foreign Affairs pen a stern letter dated July 18, 2024, demanding a comprehensive account of how the recipients utilised the grants totalling approximately Ksh752 million.

In the letter to Ford Foundation President Darren Walker and obtained by Viral Tea, the Principal Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Abraham Korir Sing'oei, began by expressing the government's appreciation for the Foundation's historical contributions to Kenya's development, terming the President's recent visit and the Foundation's continued commitment to working with the Kenyan people through civil society and state organs as deeply valued.

"However, as you may be aware, protests have recently rocked the country resulting in loss of lives and destruction of property. These protests began as efforts aimed at resisting the government's revenue-raising proposals contained in the Finance Bill, an annual legislation mandated to implement the national budget.

"Despite various concessions by the Government, the demands of the protestors have morphed and escalated into attempts at toppling the country's democratically elected and constitutionally sanctioned government under the guise of the right to demonstrate and assemble," the letter read in part.

John Allan Namu during a Citizen TV interview on April 4, 2024. /CITIZEN TV

Sing'oei noted that other than the millions disbursed to the grantees between April 2023 and May 2024, there revealed unexplained expedited funding amounting to US$ 1.49 million (approximately Ksh194 million) - over the last month alone. 

The PS noted with deep concern that most of the Grantees have been at the centre of the Anti-Finance Bill protests and the "subsequent anarchic mobilizations that have sought to upend the peace and security of the state".

The government cited organisations under the spotlight including Africa Uncensored Limited linked to veteran investigative journalist, John Allan Namu, in a list that also includes a mix of human rights groups, media organisations, and civic bodies, all of which have been pivotal in recent protests against the government. Others cited include the Kenya Human Rights Commission and Mzalendo Trust.

The Grantees

The organisations that allegedly received grants from the Ford Foundation include; Africa Uncensored Limited (Project Mulika) Ksh32.7 million ($250,000), Women’s Link Worldwide Ksh98.2 million ($750,000), Centre for Resource Mobilization and Development Ksh2.6 million ($ 20,000), Transform Empowerment for Action Initiative Ksh28.8 million ($ 220,000) and the Kenya Human Rights Commission Ksh78.6 million ($ 600,000).

Others are Open Institute Trust Ksh13.1 million ($100,000), Africa Centre for Open Governance Ksh26.2 million ($200,000), Transparency International Ksh39.3 million($300,000), The Institute for Social Accountability (TISA) Ksh26.2 million($ 200,000) National Coalition of Human Rights Defenders (K) Ksh33.6 million ($257,000) and Shinning Hope for Communities Inc Ksh268 million($2,050,000).

The Ford Foundation also issued grants to the Coalition for Grassroots Human Rights Defenders Kenya Ksh32.7 million ($250,000), Community Aid International Ksh13.1 million($100,000), Mzalendo Trust Ksh43.8 million($ 335,000) Usikimye (Femicide) Ksh3.9 million ($30,000) and the Citizens Advancement Initiative; Ksh19.6 million ($150,000).

"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. Thus, 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. 

"Their conduct also fundamentally flouts Ford Foundation's Non-Lobbying Policy begging the question of whether your Foundation has abandoned this policy and is now intent on adversely influencing the internal political and policy processes within the Republic of Kenya," the letter added.

The Requests

The Ministry, while noting the existing framework governing the cooperation of Ford Foundation and the Kenya government, deemed it imperative that the foundation immediately clears the air on a number of issues touching on its grantees by responding to four requests:

1. Ford Foundation was directed to provide full details of its grantees over the last year, the programmes approved (particularly over the last three months), budgets for each project, the amounts so far disbursed and what is pipelined for disbursement.
2. The government urged the foundation to furnish the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs with reports from the foundation's Grantees detailing the activities carried out, the cost of these activities and their beneficiaries.
3. Ford Foundation was also tasked to share a report on its compliance with its Non-Lobbying Policy or a statement that this policy is inapplicable to its activities in the country.
4. The government also called on the Ford Foundation to prescribe any sanctions it will impose for breaches of the law or its internal policies.

The move followed President Ruto's fiery allegations that the foundation was sponsoring violence and unrest in Kenya. During a recent public address, Ruto condemned the foundation, accusing it of fuelling chaos through its financial support, saying “If they are going to sponsor violence in Kenya,” Ruto declared, “we are going to call them out and we are going to tell them that they either style up or they leave.”

The Ford Foundation however denied these claims, asserting that it maintains a strictly non-partisan stance in its grant-making activities.

In response to Ruto’s accusations, the foundation stated, “While we acknowledge the right of Kenyans to peacefully advocate for a just and equitable country, we repudiate any actions or speech that are hateful or advocate violence against any institution, individual, or community.”