President William Ruto on Tuesday September 24 met Ford Foundation’s President Darren Walker in what appears as a move to mend fences after a frothing relation.
President Ruto, who is in the US for the 79th UN General Assembly, met and held talks with the President of the Ford Foundation Darren Walker in New York, months after accusing the American charity of funding youth protests in Kenya.
“Kenya appreciates the Ford Foundation’s commitment to safeguarding our democracy and supporting Kenya's calls for reforms in the global economic institutions, climate action and modern technology regulation,” President Ruto posted on his X handle.
Following a staggering wave of unrelenting protests staged by youthful Kenyans, over a myriad of issues in the governance of the country, President Ruto put the funders of the protests on notice.
The Head of State warned foreign entities against allegedly undermining Kenya’s stability and democracy.
He cautioned against any attempts at revolution and anarchy, saying his administration would not tolerate such actions in the country.
While condemning those he claimed were influencing the youth to cause violence and mayhem, Dr Ruto said those behind the planned anarchy would face the full force of the law.
“Kenya is a democratic country governed by the rule of law and run by democratically elected leaders. We cannot run our country through anarchy or revolution. We will ensure that whoever is sponsoring the protests is met with the full force of the law,” said President Ruto while in Keringet, Kuresoi South, Nakuru County.
“Our youth are not available for retrogressive assignments. Those sponsoring them to cause violence and mayhem must be ashamed of themselves. We ask the Ford Foundation to explain to Kenyans its role in the recent protests. If they (Ford Foundation) are not interested in democracy in Kenya, they should either style up or ship out. We will call out all those who are bent on rolling back our hard-won democracy,” Dr Ruto added.
Further to President Ruto’s roadside proclamations, the Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing'oei demanded an accountability report from Ford Foundation on Sh752 million allegedly given to 16 organisations in Kenya between April 2023 and May 2024.
In a letter to the president of the New York-based Ford Foundation, the PS said there were some unexplained fast-track grants amounting to $1.49 million (Sh194 million) in June 2024.
Ford Foundation would later deny the claims by President Ruto, explaining in an official statement, that it does not sponsor the alleged activities.
“We do not fund or sponsor the recent protests against the Finance Bill and have a strictly non-partisan policy for all of our grantmaking,” said Ms Tolu Onafowokan, the foundation’s director of strategic communications, in response to Nation.Africa then.
