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Barely three months after he accused the Ford Foundation of sponsoring violence in the country by hiring goons to cause mayhem during the Gen Z protests, President William Ruto yesterday held talks with the Foundation’s President in New York and heaped praises on the institution.

President Ruto, who had threatened to call out the Foundation and tell them to either style up or leave, yesterday met Darren Walker on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

During the meeting, President Ruto underscored Kenya’s commitment to democratic governance, rule of law, and respect for human rights.

A bulletin from the Presidential Communications team said the President noted that with the democratic backsliding in many parts of the world, it was imperative to safeguard democracy particularly in Africa, from dangers of disinformation and manipulation of the digital space for non-democratic ends.

International stage

The Foundation’s President on his part applauded President Ruto for being a strong voice at the international stage on matters touching on reforming global economic governance institutions, climate change, and technology regulation and committed Ford’s willingness to support Kenya.

President Ruto thanked the Foundation for investing in Kenya’s development over the last 60 years and agreed on the need to upgrade the institution’s Host Country Agreement and provide a robust framework for realization of mutual objectives.

Present at the meeting were Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga and Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi.

The government had in July accused the Foundation of sponsoring violence and anarchy.

“We are going to call them out and we are going to tell them if they are not interested in democracy in Kenya, if they are going to sponsor violence and anarchy we are going to call them out and we are going to tell them they either style up or they leave,”

President Ruto said on July 15 while addressing a public gathering in Nakuru county at the height of the countrywide Gen Z protests.

Exchanged views

Just a day later, Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Singoei hosted the Ford Foundation delegation led by Martin Abregu, the Vice President for International Programmes and Nishka Chandrasoma, Vice President and General Counsel.

The meeting was to exchange views on the issues President Ruto had raised in his letter dated July 18 to the Foundation.

“During the constructive, and candid discussions between our delegations, I underscored Kenya’s commitment to building a robust civic space that enables citizens’ engagement in governance,” PS Singoei said. Late last month, the US Ambassador to Kenya Meg Whitman also faulted the government for pointing an accusing finger at the American-based private company over these allegations.

Whitman defended the Ford Foundation citing its track record as a charitable organization in Kenya since it was founded in 1963, adding that it was inappropriate for the government to single-handedly shift blame towards the Foundation.

The Ambassador, while speaking on Citizen TV’s ‘The Explainer’ show added that the Foundation’s leadership has since visited Kenya to address the issue and it will soon be clear to Kenyans that it was not behind the Gen Z demonstrations.