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Ford Foundation denies Ruto protest accusations

The Ford Foundation has denied accusations by Kenyan President William Ruto that it has been funding weeks of youth-led anti-tax protests that have now morphed into demands for him to cede power.

It’s not the first time accusations of financing the protests have been lobbed at international organisations. At the beginning of July, two unnamed international NGOs were similarly accused of funding the demonstrations.

The Kenyan government has always had a contentious relationship with civil society organisations and their funders. The state hasn’t only targeted organisations working in political governance and democratic accountability. Humanitarian agencies have also been hit by proposed funding limits and smear campaigns.

This troubled relationship with NGOs dates back to Kenya’s founding as a British colony in 1920. The colonial government had little interest in providing services – such as schools – to the native African populations. Into this space stepped a variety of groups, from foreign missionaries to local associations. However, these also became sites of resistance to the colonial regime.

After an initial expansion of the developmental state following independence in 1963, the state retreated once again in the 1980s and 1990s under pressure from neoliberalist international finance institutions. As living standards plummeted, NGOs once again stepped in to fill the vacuum, multiplying from 125 in 1974 to over 4,200 in 2006. By then, they ran as many hospitals in the country as the government. At the same time, a section of civil society increasingly challenged the legitimacy of the authoritarian regime of Daniel arap Moi, demanding liberalisation of the political space, respect for fundamental rights, an end to kleptocratic governance, and competitive elections.

The government’s response has been to try to tread a fine line of imposing restrictions on the activities of political NGOs without alienating Western governments and without impeding the activities of those that provide the services the state can’t or won’t.

This schizophrenic approach is typified by a law regulating the sector that was widely welcomed when passed in 2013 but has been held in limbo for over a decade.

There have also been repeated attempts to starve local NGOs of foreign funding. However, threats to pass laws capping foreign funding at 15% were abandoned in part due to the effect such a blunt instrument would have on humanitarian NGOs such as the Kenya Red Cross.

In the run-up to the 2022 election, there was a palpable fear among civil society activists that a Ruto administration would target their organisations, which he blamed for his prosecution for crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court in relation to 2007 post-election violence. It’s no secret that many of them backed his rival, Raila Odinga.

This expected crackdown has yet to materialise, but with Ruto now fighting for his political life and apparently seeking scapegoats, civil society groups – and their funders – have renewed reasons to worry.

For more on the protests in Kenya, read this recent opinion from Editor for Inclusive Storytelling Patrick Gathara: