Kenya Insights

Tag: Darren Walker

  • President Ruto Now Lauds Ford Foundation’s Commitment to Safeguarding Democracy in Kenya After Meeting Its President In New York

    President Ruto Now Lauds Ford Foundation’s Commitment to Safeguarding Democracy in Kenya After Meeting Its President In New York

    President William Ruto on Monday held high-level talks with the President of the Ford Foundation Darren Walker in New York, two months after the Kenyan government accused the organization of sponsoring youth -led anti-government protests.

    The protests, which began on June 18 with calls for the rejection of the Finance Bill 2024 later morphed into calls for the resignation of President Ruto.

    Ruto blamed the protests, which was largely youth-led to interference from foreign forces.

    However, following Ruto’s meeting the Foundation’s, he appeared to change tune praising the organization for pushing for democratic governance and supporting Kenya’s initiatives for global economic reforms and climate action.

    “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,” Ruto said following the meeting.

    President Ruto had on July 15 trained his guns on the Ford Foundation claiming it is the financier of the protests spreading anarchy.

    The decades old organization which opened its offices in the country in 1963, against the backdrop of independence in the East African region have for years supported courageous leaders on the frontlines of social change in the country.

    During his tour in Nakuru, the President scoffed at the organisation for sponsoring the Generation Z demonstration where protestors gained entry to key government institutions including Parliament.

    “Those behind sponsoring the chaos in the republic of Kenya I want to tell them shame on them! Because they are sponsoring violence against our democratic nation. I want to ask the Ford Foundation to tell us they are sponsoring violence for what benefit?” the President stated.

    “We are going to call them out and tell them if they are going to sponsor violence and anarchy.We are going to tell them to either style up or leave.”

    He claimed that the unnamed foreign individuals were responsible for sponsoring chaos witnessed during the Protests to destabilize his government.

    However, on July 20, the Ford Foundation insisted on a transparent grant framework following Kenya’s demand for disclosures on Sh946 million extended to Kenyan grantees in just a year.

    The foundation, in a statement, asserted that its grant-making process is “transparent and readily available.”

    “As a charitable foundation with a global presence, our grantmaking is transparent and readily available on our website, www.fordfoundation.org,” the organization said.

    “This includes a database showing where our funds go, as well as highlights from our rich history in East Africa and around the world.”

    The response followed a formal inquiry from Kenya to the Ford Foundation listing 16 rights groups that benefited from over Sh900 million funding allegedly linked to chaos during the recent protests.

    In the letter, the Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’Oei had demanded answers to the unexplained manner in which the organisations spent allocations.

    Sing’Oei had alleged that most of the Grantees have been at the centre of the recent protests and subsequent anarchic mobilizations that have sought to disturb the country’s peace.

    However, the organization said it does not support violence.

    Further, the organization said that while it acknowledges the right of Kenyans to peacefully advocate for a just and equitable country, it does not support any actions or speech that are hateful or advocate violence against any institution, individual, or community.

    The philanthropic organization headquartered in the United States expressed its commitment to building on its more than 60 years legacy in the region to enable Kenyans unlock opportunities that are beneficial to everyone.

  • ‘You Were Rigged To The Office, Can’t Write Or Communicate Coherently, You Graduated Last In Your Class’ Ahmednasir Sustains Attacks On CJ Koome

    ‘You Were Rigged To The Office, Can’t Write Or Communicate Coherently, You Graduated Last In Your Class’ Ahmednasir Sustains Attacks On CJ Koome

    Despite being banned from appearing in the Supreme Court, Lawyer Ahmednasir Abdullahi has sustained his attacks on the court and more aggressively against the Chief Justice Martha Koome whom he has never shied from showing his dislike.

    In his latest attack, the bullish lawyer has claimed that Ms Koome was rigged into her position by former president Uhuru’s men while painting her as less qualified for the apex court position, “I’m utterly dismayed that as a CJ who was rigged to office by the Uhuru regime (you graduated last in your class, number 113 in a class of 113 and with a pass degree) and is supremely unqualified for the job (in your interview for CJ You failed to bring a sample of your writting, as you had none, and instead brought a judgment authored by three judges.” Ahmednasir wrote in X.

    CJ Koome consults with her deputy Ms. Philgona Mwilu.

    He cites technicalities that favored the CJ’s case to her current position and went further to expose her ‘incompetence’, “the Vetting Board tied 4:4 votes and that is why you were retained, their serious misgivings on your competence notwithstanding. The Vetting Board also said you can’t write or communicate in a coherent manner.” He continued.

    Ahmednasir has since called for Koome’s resignation, “you have the temerity to mislead the Ford Foundation and Mr. Walker and speak of the court in the conventional sense that Supreme Courts are appraised and praised in other parts of the world. The earlier you resign the better. I passionately plead with you to honorable resign so that the court and the judiciary are not destroyed by your sheer incompetence!”

    The lawyer was reacting to the visit by the Ford Foundation and its President Mr Darren Walker to the Supreme Court to discuss our shared commitment to advancing social justice.

    “The Ford Foundation has been an enduring partner of the Kenyan Judiciary and supported the post-2010 Constitution Judiciary to dialogue with other jurisdictions to enrich jurisprudence and cross-border judicial solidarity. Our continuing partnership will focus on the pursuit of People-Centred Justice programmes under the Social Transformation through Access to Justice (STAJ) Blueprint to spur universal access to justice especially for the marginalised and vulnerable.” The CJ said.

    Ford Foundation Global Board led by President Darren Walker, alongside Judges of the Supreme Court of Kenya.

    Mr. Abdullahi has been at war with the apex court which he describes as ‘a rotten Court not fit for purpose and ripe to be disbanded.’

    Last month, the Supreme Court Judges said they banned Ahmednassir over his continuous attacks on them which they described as demeaning. The lawyer has sustained attacks of the apex court judges, describing them as corrupt.

    “In view of the foregoing, it is the decision of this court, that henceforth and from the date of this communication, you shall have no audience before the court, either by yourself, through an employee of your law firm, or any other person holding brief for you,” said the CJ in a statement signed by the Registrar of Supreme Court Letizia Muthoni Wachira.

    The lawyer has since sued the apex court in the East African Court of Justice (EACJ) for the ban and also the High Court in a bid to have the ban decision reversed as it had impacted his associates too.