The US-based Ford Foundation on Tuesday rejected accusations by Kenyan President William Ruto that it was sponsoring “anarchy” and funding deadly anti-government protests. The East African nation has been plunged into political chaos over demonstrations that started as peaceful rallies led by Gen-Z Kenyans against proposed tax hikes but have spiraled into a broader campaign against Ruto and his administration.
Dozens of people have been killed since the protests began a month ago, with the deadliest day on June 25, when angry crowds stormed parliament and police fired live bullets on protesters. Ruto criticized the Ford Foundation on Monday, telling a large crowd, “That money they are giving out to sponsor violence, how are they going to benefit? If they are going to sponsor violence in Kenya, if they are going to sponsor anarchy, we are going to call them out and we are going to tell them that they either style up or they leave.”
The Ford Foundation responded in a statement on Tuesday, saying, “We do not fund or sponsor the recent protests against the finance bill.” The organization, which has distributed grants to civil and rights groups in the country for decades, maintained a “strictly non-partisan policy for all of our grantmaking.” While it supports Kenyans’ rights to peaceful advocacy, it repudiates any actions or speech that are hateful or advocate violence against any institution, individual, or community.
The Ford Foundation, established in 1936 by Edsel Ford, the son of Ford Motor Company founder Henry Ford, operates across the world and aims to advance social justice and promote democratic values.
Ruto, who is scrambling to manage the worst crisis of his near two-year presidency, has previously accused unnamed foreign elements of stoking unrest during the demonstrations. Street protests have eased off recently, but activists have called for fresh action on Tuesday.
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