Court stops NGOs Board from freezing Kalonzo Foundation accounts
What you need to know:
- The Foundation had moved to court on May 8 seeking to have their accounts at I&M Bank unfrozen after the regulatory body had ordered them shut following accusations that the Foundation was engaged in illegal activities.
- Mr Kennedy Musyoka, the Wiper Democratic Movement Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka’s son, says the Foundation has been in operation since 2005 and is currently paying school fees for 23 students.
A court has issued orders to the Non-Governmental Organisations Coordinating Board barring the body from freezing the accounts of Kalonzo Musyoka Foundation or interfering with their operations.
“Prohibition, prohibiting the respondent from freezing the applicants’ bank accounts or other howsoever interfering with applicant’s day to day operations” the order says.
The Foundation had moved to court on May 8 seeking to have their accounts at I&M Bank unfrozen after the regulatory body had ordered them shut following accusations that the Foundation was engaged in illegal activities.
The Board had also accused the Foundation of operating a secret as well as illegal foreign currency account and that their accounts do not reveal identity of its donors.
A May 2, letter to the Foundation by the NGOs Board’s CEO Fazul Mahamed, noted that the money received from donors was meant to improve the livelihoods of marginalised communities in Machakos, Kitui and Makueni counties.
“The funds are not traceable in the Foundation’s bank accounts, annual returns, audited accounts or the Foundation’s bank statements given to the Board for review,” reads the letter.
But according to Mr Kennedy Musyoka, the Wiper Democratic Movement Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka’s son, the Foundation has been in operation since 2005 and is currently paying school fees for 23 students.
In his case documents, Mr Musyoka claimed that the Foundation has consistently filed its returns with the Board.
“The application through an affidavit signed by Kennedy Kalonzo, the Foundation has succeeded in barring the NGO Board from freezing, de-registering and interfering with the normal operations of the organisation,” read a statement from David Kavisu, Mr Musyoka’s aide.
“The application filled through Musyoka Murambi and Associates also secured a date for the matter to be heard and for further directions on May 31,” he added.
The Nation was however unable to raise Mr Mahamed to comment on the same.
