Boards lifts deregistration of 54 NGOs
The NGO Cordination Board has reinstated an additional 54 NGOs that were deregistered in December last year.
This now leaves on 292 NGOs out in the cold from the 525 that were struck off the registry for not filing their annual returns.
Already 179 NGOs had been reinstated in December just a week after being deregistered after they rushed to file their annual returns.
Board Executive director Fazul Mahamed told Nairobi News an additional 200 had declared their intention to comply.
“The 200 have partially complied but we are monitoring them for the next three months to see if they will have fully complied by that time before they get their certificates back,” he said.
“Those reinstated have filed their audited accounts and paid the necessary fines for the years that they failed to comply,” he said.
There has been public outcry in the manner in which the NGOs were deregistered with politicians from the opposition and a section of the civil society claiming they were being witch-hunted.
The NGO Council, a self-regulating umbrella association of all NGOs even faulted the deregistration with its Chief Executive Kevinna Loyatum saying no prior communication was furnished to the NGOs about the impending deregistration.
LICENSES CANCELLED
He claimed the government was clamping down on the NGOs because of their push for democracy, allegations which have been denied by the board.
“We are not after anybody, all we want is the due process to be followed,” said Fazul.
The board is yet to release the names of 15 NGOs whose licenses were cancelled in December over allegations of sponsoring corruption with Fazul saying releasing the names will jeopardise investigations.
Accounts belonging to the 15 were frozen and their assets acquired for redistribution to other NGOs pursuing similar interests. However, Fazul says this is yet to happen as the said NGOs are still under investigation.
The board says a further 12 who were given 21 days to comply with the law or face deregistration are on various stages of complying and have been allowed to operate.
These are Medecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders), with offices in Switzerland, France and Belgium, Technoserve Kenya, Water for Life, LVCT Health, Adventist Development and Relief Agency International and Artsen Zonder Grenzen-Holland.
Others are the Centre for Health Solutions Kenya, Concern Worldwide, FH Association and Veterinaires Sans Frontieres Belgium.
He said the Board is also investigating cases of serious fraud within the NGO sector and a number of directors will soon face criminal proceedings.