WEDNESDAY AUGUST 16 2017
Members of the civil society at AfriCOG offices in Westlands, Nairobi after a raid by police and KRA officials on August 16, 2017. PHOTO | KEN KIMANTHI | NATION MEDIA GROUP
Police and Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) officials have raided Africa Centre for Open Governance (AfriCOG) offices in Westlands, Nairobi.
The raid comes a day after the NGOs Coordinating Board claimed to shut it down for operating illegally.
The board, in a letter to Director of Criminal Investigations Ndegwa Muhoro, alleges AfriCOG has been operating illegally because it “is not registered under the NGOs Coordination Act 1990 as required by law”.
“AfriCOG is and continues to operate as a charitable organisation in direct contravention of Section 22 (of NGOs Co-ordination Act 1990 )which according to the Act is an offence punishable by law,” NGO Coordination Board Executive Director Fazul Mohamed says in the letter.
He also quotes Regulation 75 of the Act and the attendant regulation, which requires all organisations engaging in charitable activities to rescind their various registrations and obtain registration.
“The purpose of this communication therefore is to urge your office to move with speed to close down the operations of this organisation and further arrest the directors and members of AfriCOG, for contravening the foregoing provision; and with a view to arraigning and prosecuting them in a competent court of law,” Mr Mohamed says.
AfriCOG was alleged to be operating illegally a day after the NGOs Coordinating Board deregistering the Kenya Human Rights Commission.
Officials of KHRC said they had been holding consultations within the civil society to determine if to file a presidential petition by the Saturday deadline, which is set by law.
KHRC chairman Makau Mutua, while commenting on the petition, said he would not rule out anything.
The don added that they will be back in court over the decision to shut down KHRC, which he termed illegal.
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