{"id":113228,"date":"2025-04-08T10:05:38","date_gmt":"2025-04-08T10:05:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/index.php\/2025\/04\/08\/ford-foundation-opens-regional-offices-in-nairobi-after-gen-z-protests-funding-row\/"},"modified":"2025-04-08T10:05:38","modified_gmt":"2025-04-08T10:05:38","slug":"ford-foundation-opens-regional-offices-in-nairobi-after-gen-z-protests-funding-row","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/ford-foundation-opens-regional-offices-in-nairobi-after-gen-z-protests-funding-row\/","title":{"rendered":"Ford Foundation opens regional offices in Nairobi after Gen Z protests funding row"},"content":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, Apr 8 \u2013 The Ford Foundation has opened its new East Africa offices in Nairobi, signaling a reset in its relations with the Kenyan government just months after a diplomatic row over allegations of funding anti-government protests.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing\u2019Oei, who officiated the opening on behalf of Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi on Monday, lauded the Foundation as a \u201creliable development partner\u201d to governments, civil society organizations, and the media in the region.<\/p>\n

\u201cI inaugurated the Ford Foundation\u2019s new offices for East Africa today. I commended the Foundation for being a reliable development partner to governments in the region, civil society, and media,\u201d Sing\u2019Oei said in a statement.<\/p>\n

The move comes eight months after President William Ruto accused the US \u2013 based philanthropic organization of sponsoring youth-led protests that rocked the country starting June 18 last year.<\/p>\n

Initially triggered by opposition to the controversial Finance Bill 2024, the demonstrations quickly evolved into nationwide calls for Ruto\u2019s resignation.<\/p>\n

At the height of the unrest, Ruto alleged foreign interference and pointed fingers at the Foundation for funding activities that he said threatened Kenya\u2019s democratic stability.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose 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?\u201d the President stated.<\/p>\n

However, in a shift in tone, President Ruto appeared to mend fences with the Foundation during a high-level meeting with its President Darren Walker in New York on September 23.<\/p>\n

Following the talks, the President praised the organization for promoting democratic governance and supporting Kenya\u2019s efforts on global economic reforms and climate action.<\/p>\n

\u201cKenya appreciates the Ford Foundation\u2019s commitment to safeguarding our democracy and supporting our calls for reforms in global economic institutions, climate action, and modern technology regulation,\u201d Ruto said in a statement released after the meeting.<\/p>\n

The Foundation, which has operated in Kenya since 1963, came under scrutiny in July after the government demanded transparency over KSh946 million disbursed to 16 local grantees within a year.<\/p>\n

Authorities alleged that several recipient organizations were central to the recent protests and accused them of orchestrating \u201canarchic mobilizations.\u201d<\/p>\n

In response, the Ford Foundation defended its grant-making as fully transparent and published on its website. \u201cAs a charitable foundation with a global presence, our grant-making is transparent and readily available on our website,\u201d it said in a statement dated July 20.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do not support violence or any hateful speech. Our work is grounded in the belief that all people should have the power to shape their lives.\u201d<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, Apr 8 \u2013 The Ford Foundation has opened its new East Africa offices in Nairobi, signaling a reset in its relations with the Kenyan government just months after a diplomatic row over allegations of funding anti-government protests. Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing\u2019Oei, who officiated the opening on behalf of Prime Cabinet Secretary […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-113228","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113228","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=113228"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113228\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=113228"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=113228"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=113228"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}