State turns heat on NGOs, flags 13 organisations over regulatory breaches

The government has turned the heat on non-governmental entities, accusing some of regulatory breaches as its war with the civil society sector deepens.

According to the Public Benefits Authority 13 of the organisations listed in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs letter to the Ford Foundation as having received a total of Sh752 million between April 2023 and May 2024 and expedited funding amounting to Sh194 million over the last month alone, are not registered under the authority and are thus running "unauthorised accounts and implementing projects that can not be accounted for".

The authority's Chairman Mwambu Mabongah explained that the 13 are only registered under both the Registrar of Companies and Societies Act.

"Moving forward, all organisations engaging in public benefit in Kenya shall be required to either obtain public benefit status as provided for under Section 7 and or register with the Authority under sections 10 and 11 of the PBOs Act," he said.

Amongst the 13 notable organisations include; Transparency International, Kenya; Africa Uncensored Limited, Africa Centre for Open Governance, The Institute for Social Accountability (TISA), Mzalendo Trust, Usikimye, and National Coalition for Human Rights Defenders.

"The authority has further forwarded to the DCI for further investigations, Public Benefit Organisations (PBOs) that are currently in operation without obtaining the requisite registration and yet the PBOs are receiving funding that they are not accountable for, running bank accounts that have not been authorised and implementing projects that cannot be quantified or accounted for. The Directorate of Criminal Investigations investigating the criminal aspects of the allegations," the Chairman added.

Registered firms

The authority explained that only three are registered under the PBO Act 2013.

The three are KHRC, Shofco, and Transform Empowerment for Action Initiative.

The move follows allegations by the government that some NGOs in the country are funding the ongoing anti-government protests set to resume tomorrow., a claim that the civil society sector has denied.

On Saturday, the organisations distanced themselves from claims that they are being used by external partners to fund violence during the ongoing protests.

They said their activities and sources of funding are known by the government under their legal registration through the Public Benefit Organisations Act or the Company's Act, all requiring that they file financial returns.

The organisations including Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC), The Institute for Social Accountability (TISA)-Kenya, Transparency International (TI) and Defenders Coalition said the claims of funding violence are meant to raise a distraction from the ongoing Kenyans call for change in governance and accountability.

TI executive director Sheila Masinde said for decades, civil society groups have tirelessly called out against acts of violence against Kenyans and have constituency done so during the current wave of protests.

She noted that the intensity of the same has been high in the last three months when civil society and the media have engaged robustly in pushing for public finance management accountability, public debt, and protection of human rights including the right to expression, assembly including protests and active citizenship, end of extrajudicial executions, enforced disappearances, abductions and the theft of public resources.

"These are the concerns shared by Kenyans who are pushing for an accountable government at all levels, especially at the executive and legislative class. The continued neglect of the need to have an accountable and transparent government that respects and values the voices of Kenyans is the reason for continued protests across various parts of the country," she explained.