Investigative journalist John Allan Namu has confirmed that his media organisation received funds from the international NGO Ford Foundation as he insisted they have nothing to hide.
When The Star reached him moments after Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing'oei lodged a formal complaint to the foundation seeking among the demands the full list of grantees in the country, he referred us to a post he made on Thursday.
“I made my statement yesterday (Thursday) on X and I have also put another today...I tweeted in response to a post by blogger Cyprian Nyakundi, so you can use it,” he said.
In his post, Nyakundi had posted a screenshot from the Ford Foundation page as he challenged him to confirm if he truly received the funds.
The post shows that the media organisation (project Mulika) received a grant of $250,000 (Sh33 million).
Namu said as an organisation, they can account for all the funds they receive from donors for their work.
“This is true. We have never denied or hidden our sources of funding or partnerships,” he said in response to the post on X.
“I have always said the proof of our intention is the work we do.”
Namu added that he is ready to defend all the work they have completed through the grants.
"I'm ready to defend all the work we have put in."
The clarification came on the day the government of Kenya wrote to Ford Foundation president Darren Walker in a letter dated July 18 listing 16 NGOs in connection to the protests.
Sing'oei said Kenya is concerned that some of these organisations are linked to the ongoing protests in the country.
"It is noteworthy that several of your Grantees below mentioned received a total of US$ 5.78 Million (approximately Kenya Shillings 752 Million) between April 2023 and May 2024 - with unexplained expedited funding amounting to US$ 1.49 M (approximately Kenya shillings 194 million) - over the last month alone," Sing'oei said.
"Deeply concerning is that most of the Grantees have been at the centre of the Anti-Finance Bill protests and the subsequent anarchic mobilizations that have sought to upend the peace and security of the state," he added.
Kenya now wants the Ford Foundation to clear the air on four key issues regarding their grantees.
They include providing full details of their Grantees over the last year, the programmes approved (particularly over the last three months), budgets for each project, the amounts so far disbursed and what is pipelined for disbursement.
"Furnish us with Reports from your Grantees detailing the activities carried out, the cost of these activities and their beneficiaries," Sing'Oe stated about its second demand.
The PS also wants the Ford Foundation to share a report on the Ford Foundation’s compliance with its Non-Lobbying Policy or a statement that this policy is inapplicable to its activities in the country.
Kenya at the same time wants the Ford Foundation to prescribe any sanctions it will impose for breaches of the law or their internal policies.