In what has become his practice, President William Ruto on Tuesday walked back on his earlier criticism of the Ford Foundation, changing tune of his harsh criticism of the American NGO into praises.
Following a meeting with president of the Ford Foundation Darren Walker in New York.Kenya on the sidelines of the UNGA79, President Ruto said Kenya appreciates the NGO’s commitment to safeguarding the country’s democracy.
The President went on to praise the organization for “supporting Kenya’s calls for reforms in the global economic institutions, climate action and modern technology regulation.
This comes a month after he threatened expelling Ford Foundation for what he termed sponsoring chaos in the country at the height of Gen Z protests against the Finance Bill 2024 in July.
Presidet Ruto sensationally accused the foundation of sponsoring anarchy in Kenya, threatening to expel it 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.
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.
Following the New York meeting, PS Korir said the engagement underscored Kenya’s commitment to democratic governance, rule of law and respect for human rights.
“Noting democratic backsliding in many parts of the world, the meeting agreed on the imperative to safeguard democracy particularly in Africa from the vicissitudes of disinformation and manipulation of the digital space for non-democratic ends,” Korir said on X.
He added that Ford Foundation’s President applauded Ruto for being a strong voice at the international stage on matters touching on reforming global economic governance institutions, climate change and technology regulation and committed Ford’s willingness to support the government of Kenya meet the demands of these engagements.
“President Ruto thanked the Foundation for investing in Kenya’s development over the last 60 years and agreed on the need to upgrade the institution’s Host Country Agreement and provide a robust framework for realization of mutual objectives,” Korir added.
US ENVOY CRITICIZES RUTO REMARKS
During an interview with Citizen TV, US Ambassador Meg Whitman in August 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.
