The government has defended proposed regulations to control public benefit organisations, insisting they were timely after having been shelved for over a decade.

Public Benefit Organisations Regulatory Authority (PBORA) Director General Laxmana Kiptoo dismissed claims that the government intends to rein in PBOs to prevent donor money from being diverted to fund protests.

Last year, President William Ruto accused some donors of sponsoring violence when Kenyan youth poured into the streets to oppose the 2024 Finance Bill.

The president threatened to expel them from the country.

Kiptoo said PBORA’s mandate is just to register all public benefit organisations, adding that each body must stipulate what it does before being licensed.

Court cases

The DG termed the regulations as very important, noting that the enactment of the PBO Act had been delayed since 2013, when it was established due to court cases that blocked its implementation.

“The previous government did not implement this act because, in their view, some areas needed to be amended. The organisations, civil societies and NGOs went to court, with an argument that the government cannot amend an act before implementing it. We are in the process of implementing this act, then the amendments will come after,” he said.

However, the PBORA boss noted that the government then was right with the intention to amend the PBO Act, adding that a recent court case had declared some sections of the Act as unconstitutional.

The judgment, he said, has been set aside after the Authority obtained a stay order.

“We are also moving to the Court of Appeal, as we try to navigate how to implement this Act as it is, following the earlier court order that authorised its enforcement,” he stated.

Kenyans have up to July 18, 2025, to submit their views on the proposed regulations, with Kiptoo clarifying that their input will enable PBORA to create comprehensive rules that will weed out unscrupulous behaviour among public benefit organisations in different sectors, including health, conservation, climate change and education.