Kenya's spat with foreign funded NGOs a litmus test on sovereignty: experts

The latest altercation between Kenya and several foreign funded civil society organizations is a litmus test on the East African nation's sovereignty, experts said on Friday.

Kenyan Ministry of Foreign Affairs earlier this week petitioned the British, U.S. and Norwegian governments to stop funding rights groups in the coast region over their alleged links to terrorism.

The Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Eng. Karanja Kibicho wrote a letter that cautioned Western governments against funding civil society groups suspected of sympathizing with terrorists.

In a rejoinder, the British High Commissioner in Kenya Christian Turner on Friday stated his country only funds civil society organizations that uphold the rule of law, accountability and peaceful co-existence.

Kenya's spat with rights groups escalated in April after the Garissa University terrorist attack that claimed 148 lives.

Immediately after the attack, the government blacklisted dozens of human rights groups over their alleged involvement in terrorism

financing.

Some of the blacklisted organizations included prominent coast based rights groups like Mombasa-based NGOs - Haki Africa and Muslim for Human Rights (MUHURI) - that are funded by British, American and Norwegian governments.

State officials clarified on Friday the government was not bent on emasculating the suspected civil society but its primary concern was order and stability.

"The government will not relax its tough stance on civil society groups that have a questionable agenda. A crackdown on errant civil society organizations will be intensified to promote national security, peace and stability," said an official in the Mnistry of Planning and Devolution who requested anonymity.

He added the government was closely monitoring activities of foreign funded NGOs to ensure their activities do not compromise national security. There was no comment from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs which wrote the letter.

Experts who spoke to Xinhua on Friday stressed there is need for the state to vet organizations that were propagating suspicious agendas.

"We are a young democracy and given our vulnerability to foreign meddling, there is need to scrutinize groups whose sources of funding and motives are questionable," remarked Joshua Kivuva, a political scientist.

He admitted the civil society has contributed immensely to Kenya's socio-economic progress since independence.

"It is not fair to issue a blanket condemnation on the entire civil society since it has been a force for good in many areas. My only issue is with groups that secure huge funding from overseas only to carry out activities that are detrimental to our sense of nationhood," said Kivuva.

He faulted Western governments for pushing their agenda through civil society groups.

"My position is that Kenya is a sovereign state and foreign governments who seek to manipulate us through financing clandestine groups stand accused of breaching diplomatic norms," Kivuva told Xinhua.

Patrick Maluki, a diplomacy scholar at the University of Nairobi, said African states should read a riot act to Western governments that sponsor illegitimate groups to fuel rebellion.

"Given our fragility, it is high time we strengthened inspection on non state actors to weed out unscrupulous elements in their midst. Some of these groups have been in the public domain for promoting youth radicalization in coast and north eastern regions," said Maluki, adding that foreign governments should channel more resources to NGOs that promote economic development, peace and stability. Endi