NAIROBI Kenya August 28 -The US Ambassador to Kenya Meg Whitman on Tuesday faulted the government for pointing an accusing finger at American-based private company, Ford Foundation, over allegations of funding anti-government protests between June and July.
Whitman defended the Ford Foundation citing its track record as a charitable organization in Kenya since it was founded in 1963, adding that it was inappropriate for the government to single-handedly shift blame towards the Foundation.
The Ambassador, while speaking on Citizen TV’s ‘The Explainer’ show added that the Foundation’s leadership has since visited Kenya to address the issue and it will soon be clear to Kenyans that it was not behind the Gen Z demonstrations.
At least 60 Kenyans died and property destroyed during the demonstrations.
Whitman said she read malice in blaming the Foundation owing to the fact that there are so many US-based organizations such as United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Welcome Trust and the Rockefeller Foundation which undertake similar activities.
“The Ford Foundation has worked in this country for almost 60 years, they support many civil society organizations. Civil societies are very important to democracy alongside youths and religious leaders and others,” she said.
She added: “I have been quite vocal with the government and we also had the Ford Foundation General Counsellor and a couple of 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.”
President William Ruto had on July 15 while at a rally in Nakuru accused the Foundation of sponsoring violence in the country saying that it had hired goons to cause mayhem during the protests.
“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,” President Ruto said.
Ford Foundation distanced itself from the allegations, maintaining that it a charitable foundation with a global presence and has been committed to transparency and the advancement of civil society causes globally.
According to the Foundation, their grantmaking is transparent and readily available on the website.
“This includes a database showing where our funds go, as well as highlights from our rich history in East Africa and around the world. While we continue to 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,” the Foundation wrote on its website.
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