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We are being targeted over Hague cases, NGOs claim
The International Criminal Court. Non-governmental organisations claim that the Jubilee government is targeting them over the on-going cases at the International Criminal Court. PHOTO|FILE
What you need to know:
- At a press conference Saturday in Nairobi, the umbrella body of non-governmental organisations said the amendments in the Bill were ill-advised and unconstitutional as they went against the constitutional rights of Kenyans.
- Existing non-governmental organisations would be required to seek re-registration within a year. Failure to re-register has dire consequences.
Non-governmental organisations claim that the Jubilee government is targeting them over the on-going cases at the International Criminal Court.
The National Civil Society Congress Coordinator Churchill Suba said the government is out to punish those perceived to have cooperated with the ICC in the push to have the masterminds of the 2007/08 post-election violence face the law.
The administrative and regulatory framework for the Public Benefits Organisations has now been placed under the Ministry of Planning and Devolution, which the organisations say will go a long way in frustrating them from running their affairs with minimal interference.
At a press conference Saturday in Nairobi, the umbrella body of non-governmental organisations said the amendments in the Bill were ill-advised and unconstitutional as they went against the constitutional rights of Kenyans.
“The Bill is partly targeting organisations dealing with human rights and governance that are suspected to have come to the rescue of victims of 2007/08 violence,” said Mr Suba.
The group accused MPs of relegating their duty of coming up with laws that advance the interests of Kenyans in favour of pursuing selfish interests in a move to please few “politically correct people”.
Civil Society Organisations’ Reference Group said provisions in the Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill, 2013 would stifle them.
The Bill seeks to amend the law which was passed by the 10th Parliament and would establish a public benefits organisations regulatory authority instead of the previous coordination board.
Existing non-governmental organisations would be required to seek re-registration within a year. Failure to re-register has dire consequences.
The reference group advisor Faith Gitonga said the Bill does not establish clear guidelines on how non-governmental organisations would be regulated.
“The absence of well-articulated guidelines gives the oversight body discretionary powers that might be used to frustrate,” said Ms Gitonga.
The Statute Law (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill published by the Attorney-General on October 30, 2013, also proposes to cap external funding of public benefits organisations at not more than 15 per cent of their total funding.
“Restricting the activities of non-governmental organisations that have rubbed the government the wrong way is not the best way. The political elite must be willing to be corrected,” said The Constitution and Reform Education Consortium Executive Secretary Regina Opondo.
The group said the Bill would have a serious negative impact on Kenya’s social and economic development if put into effect.
