DCI Probing A List Of NGOs For Operating Illegally In Kenya

Three organisations are on DCI radar for operating illegally.

The Public Benefit Organisations Regulatory Authority previously NGO Coordination Board Monday revealed that the NGOs in question were not registered and were receiving funds they cannot account for channelled through unauthorised accounts.

Addressing a presser, PBO Chairperson Mwambu Mabongah withheld the names of the organisations which are now under further investigation by the detectives.

He further confirmed that 16 organisations which had been flagged by the government are registered, three under the PBOs Act, 2013 while the rest by both the Registrar of Societies and Companies.

Some of the listed organisations were linked to anti-government protests over alleged funding by the Ford Foundation.

“Out of the 16 organizations listed in the correspondence by the PS State Department for Foreign Affairs, only 3 are registered under the PBOs Act, 2013 whereas the rest are registered by both the Registrar of Societies and Companies” Mabongah stated.

However, an inquiry into allegations of regulatory breaches exposed the three PBOs for running unauthorised bank accounts.

“The Authority has further forwarded to the DCI for further investigations, PBOs that are currently in operation without obtaining the requisite registration and yet the PBOs in question are receiving funding and running bank accounts that have not been authorized and implementing projects that cannot be quantified or accounted for,” he said.

PBOs Act

The Public Benefit Organisations Act, 2013 (the Act) came into force in May replacing the Non-Governmental Organisations Coordination (NGO) Act.

With the new law, all organizations engaging in Public Benefit in Kenya are required to either obtain public benefit status as provided for under section 7 and/or register with the Authority under sections 10 and 11 of the PBOs Act.

NGOs registered under the NGO Coordination Act shall be deemed to be registered as PBOs under the Act and shall have up to one year from the commencement date to seek registration as a PBO while those that were exempted from registration under the NGO Coordination Act have three (3) months from the Commencement Date to apply for registration.

Failure of NGOs to register as PBOs under the Act within the specified periods will lead to loss of PBO status.