Lobby blasts NGO board, reads mischief in de-registration

Lobby blasts NGO board, reads mischief in de-registration

The Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) has launched a scathing attack on the NGO Co-ordination Board on seeking to de-register the NGO, insisting that its arguments do not stand and engaging in a witch-hunt.

On Monday, August 14, the NGO watchdog deregistered the body for allegedly operating illegal bank accounts, failure to account for donor funds and illegal employment of expatriates, something KHCR has come pout to refute strongly as baseless and malicious.

Speaking on Tuesday, August 15, KHCR Executive Director, George Kegoro, accused the NGO Co-ordination Board Executive Director, Fazul Mohamed, for what he terms as ‘harassing and intimidating KHRC’, saying that they were not contacted and engaged first prior top the de-registration.

“The KHRC takes great exception to a document doing rounds in local media purporting to have de-registered us. We have not been approached to air things out in regards to the allegations leveled against KHRC. This is a move by Mr. Fazul Mohamed to frustrate our activities and nothing more,” said Mr. Kegoro.

KHRC further says that it will be seeking redress to clear the airs and sanitise its name on the latest controversy, insisting that Mr. Fazul is acting maliciously to serve hidden interests and not the one that he purports to serve.

“The government said that all the aggrieved parties in the concluded August 8 polls to seek legal redress in courts. Now why are they frustrating this bodies,” added Mr. Maina Kiai.

The NGOs Co-ordination Board has again on Tuesday, August 15 written to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) seeking to also de-register Africa Center for Open Governance (AfriCOG), alleging that it is ‘operating illegally’.

The latest move have raised concerns among Kenyans, with many political pundits of the school of thought that this may be a way of intimidating NGO’s that have been critical of the government considering AfriCOG Executive Director Gladwell Otieno had expressed dissatisfaction on the transparency of the August polls and had asked the courts to make IEBC make voters register public. KHRC Chairman, Makau Mutua, has been a constant criticiser of the Jubilee administration of the way it is running the country.

It is believed that AfriCOG in particular was preparing to file a presidential petition, challenging the re-election of President Uhuru Kenyatta for his second five-year term, before the constitutionally mandated time-frame of seven days after the declaration of poll results elapses this Friday, August 18.

Mr. Fazul was also able to de-register Key Empowerment Foundation Kenya, a foundation associated with the former Prime Minister’s daughter Rosemary Odinga, in early August.

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KHRC Africog GLADWELL OTIENO Professor Makau Mutua

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