US Ambassador to Kenya Meg Whitman has called out President William Ruto for accusing America’s Ford Foundation of sponsoring anarchy during the Gen Z demonstrations in Kenya.
Speaking on Citizen TV on Tuesday, Ambassador Whitman said the accusations against the private foundation were unfounded, noting that it has worked in Kenya for almost 60 years, supporting many civil society organisations.
“Civil society is very important to democracy alongside youth and religious leaders and I have been quite vocal on this with the government. We had the Ford Foundation General Counsel and others here and they are working through this, and I think that in the end, people will agree that the Ford Foundation had nothing to do with this [protests].
“Of course they fund civil society organisations, so does USAID, the Wellcome Trust and the Rockefeller Foundation. So I thought it was very inappropriate for the government to go after the Ford Foundation,” the envoy said.
At the height of Gen Z demos in July, Presidet Ruto sensationally accused the Ford Foundation of sponsoring anarchy in Kenya, threatening to expel them from the country.
Speaking in Nakuru on July 15, Ruto claimed the Foundation was behind mayhem during the protests, which led to the destruction of property and looting of businesses.
“Nataka niulize watu wa Ford Foundation watuambie hio pesa wanatoa, wanatoa ifanye fujo ndio wapate faida gani? [I want to ask these people of Ford Foundation to tell us what benefit they want to get by giving money to sponsor violence]” he asked.
“We are going to call them out and we are going to tell them if they are not interested in democracy in Kenya, if they are going to sponsor violence and anarchy we are going to call them out and we are going to tell them they either style up or they leave.”
“We have no use for anarchy and destruction of property. Those sponsoring that violence, we know you and I want to call out those who are behind the anarchy in Kenya, those behind sponsoring the chaos in Kenya, shame on them,” he added.
The public remarks were followed up with a post on X in which he said, “Our youth are not available for retrogressive assignments. Those sponsoring them to cause violence and mayhem must be ashamed of themselves. We ask the Ford Foundation to explain to Kenyans its role in the recent protests. We will call out all those who are bent on rolling back our hard-won democracy.”
BACK AND FORTH
A day later, the foundation refuted the allegations in a statement, saying it was not in anyway responsible for sponsoring the protests.
“We do not fund or sponsor the recent protests against the finance bill.” The foundation, which has been providing grants to civil and rights groups in Kenya for decades, emphasized its “strictly non-partisan policy for all of our grantmaking,” it said.
This was, however, not enough as Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’oei followed up with a protest note to the Ford Foundation listing 16 civil society groups that benefited from over Sh900 million funding allegedly linked to the protests.
Kenya is very lucky to have a vibrant, well-educated youth population who are committed to a better economic future for Kenya and I think they deserve to be heard. Kenya has a right to peaceful assembly and the rule of law is very important for democracy,
Amb Meg Whitman
In the letter, the Foreign Affairs PS had demanded answers to the unexplained manner in which the organisations spent allocations. In the back and forth, the foundation declined to give any disclosures, instead sending the Kenyan government to its website, saying its grant-making process is “transparent and readily available.” “
As a charitable foundation with a global presence, our grantmaking is transparent and readily available on our website, www.fordfoundation.org,” the organization said.
“This includes a database showing where our funds go, as well as highlights from our rich history in East Africa and around the world.”
However Ford Foundation sent a delegation led by Martin Abregu, the Vice President for International Programmes and Nishka Chandrasoma, Vice President and General Counsel to Nairobi for a meeting with Sing’oei.
The PS said the meeting sought to exchange views on issues raised in his July 18 letter.
“During the constructive, and candid discussions between our delegations, I underscored Kenya’s commitment to building a robust civic space that enables citizens’ engagement in governance,” he said, effectively closing the matter.
Reacting to accusations of the diplomatic corp silence during the demos in which at least 60 people were killed through police bullets, Ambassador Whitman said they made a statement right after the June 25th protests as the heads of missions.
“There’s been two calls by our Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to the President in the last month or so. The US Embassy made quite a strong statement around mid-July. I would disagree that we have been silent,” she said.
The envoy regretted that at least 60 Kenyans were killed, saying, “We reject violence of any kind, violence is never the answer. Democracy can be messy but the good news is you have a very strong constitution that gives your citizens and the Gen Z rights to protest peacefully”.
“Kenya is very lucky to have a vibrant, well-educated youth population who are committed to a better economic future for Kenya and I think they deserve to be heard. Kenya has a right to peaceful assembly and the rule of law is very important for democracy,” she added.
