?? Ford Foundation Fires Back at Ruto, Word From Serial Killer's Mother-in-Law

By Derrick Kubasu

Hello and welcome to the Evening Brief Newsletter where it was chaotic scenes all day.

1 Fun Thing: Follow the Kenyans.co.ke channel on WhatsApp here for more quizzes and quick news updates.

Commander-in-Chief at War

President William Ruto, on Monday, took an issue with the Ford Foundation, an American Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), over the ongoing protests which responded promptly.

The Origin: In a speech in Nakuru, the Head of State accused some parties, among them the Ford Foundation, of financing the ongoing protests in Kenya. He further argued that some parties stood to reap huge beneficiaries.

"Those who are sponsoring the violence, we know them and I want to call out those who are behind the anarchy in Kenya. Shame on them! I want to ask the people from Ford Foundation to explain to us what they seek to gain by destabilising Kenya's democracy," Ruto stated.

Foundation Fires Back: In a statement to the press the same day, the foundation dismissed the allegations adding that it acknowledged the right of Kenyans to peacefully advocate for a better country as was the motive of the protests.

"While we acknowledge the right of Kenyans to peacefully advocate for a just and equitable country, we repudiate any actions or speech that are hateful or advocate violence against any institution, individual or community," the foundation stated.

"We do not fund or sponsor the recent protests against the finance bill and have a strictly non-partisan policy of all our grantmaking."

A Brief History: My colleague Maureen Njeri spent the better part of this morning reviewing the foundation's relationship with African countries and made discoveries.

"As it turns out, the Ford Foundation has a chequered history in Africa having been accused of political interference in several countries such as Uganda, Nigeria, and South Africa," Njeri reported.

• In Uganda, the Ford Foundation's support for LGBTQ+ rights and reproductive health initiatives has been controversial. Ford Foundation partnered with other organisations aligned with its views to create the first LGBTQ Racial Justice Fund in 2014. Uganda is known for maintaining extremely conservative values on sexuality.?

• In Nigeria, there have been criticisms of the Ford Foundation's alleged interference in the country's democracy. For instance, former Nigerian Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed in April 2021 accused the Ford Foundation along with other foreign entities, of funding activities aimed at undermining the Nigerian government. The Foundation was also accused of clandestine involvement in the Niger Delta region with some activists accusing it of not adequately addressing the root causes of conflict and underdevelopment.

• In South Africa, the Foundation has also been the subject of backlash as well. In 2017, the then-South African President Jacob Zuma accused the Ford Foundation of meddling in the country's political affairs. Zuma claimed that the Ford Foundation was funneling funds to organizations that sought to undermine the ruling African National Congress (ANC).

Check out her full coverage here.

Word From Mother-in-Law

Nearly three years after the disappearance of her daughter Imelda Judith Kamenya and hours after his killer was publicly identified, the mother of the slain serial killer's wife and first murder victim has spoken out on the heartbreak she has endured all through.

Kamenya's mother, while appearing at the DCI headquarters yesterday evening, recalled that she was in constant communication with her daughter over the years until she went silent in 2022.

She was untraceable and never returned messages sent to her via the online chat service, WhatsApp.

What the Mother Said: "She had gone quiet but sometimes she came online chatting with other people. In 2022, however, her account went silent, and never responded to text messages. Since then, I never heard from her again. I have just heard today that she was murdered."

Catch Up Quick: The serial killer Collins Jomaisi Khalisia who lives 500 meters away from the Kware Dumpsite where nine bodies have been found, admitted to murdering 42 women after arrest at his rented room in Kayole.

During interrogation, Amin noted that Jomaisi revealed that his wife was his first victim shortly after their marriage in 2022. He explained that he strangled her to death out of bitterness accusing her of squandering the two businesses he founded for her.

"Unfortunately, the suspect alleged that the first victim was his wife namely Imelda Judith who he strangled to death before dismembering her body and dumping it at the same site. From our interrogation, all his victims had been murdered in the same style," stated Amin.

The Other Side: The public, however, continues to dispute DCI's theory arguing that the deaths recorded are too many to be conducted indiscreetly by one person in a span of three years.?

As the case continues to unfold in court, you can check out our complete timeline of the case in our Newsletter yesterday.

Here are five other stories we are keeping tabs on for you today;

1. S&P Global, an international credit rating company, on Monday warned that Kenya’s credit score would be downgraded should political unrest persist.?
2. Amid mounting tension, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Ireland have issued stern travel advisories to their citizens in Kenya.
3. A steel manufacturer has threatened to shut down its wire plant and consequently lay off 250 employees.
4. The East African Community (EAC) announced new duty rates for manufacturing and industrial inputs imported by Tanzanian companies and industries. Kenya will impose a levy on televisions & 5 other goods if imported from Tanzania.
5. Read our full coverage live blog of today’s multi-city protests in Kenya.

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This newsletter was written by Derrick Kubasu and edited by Brian Muuo.

Washington Mito contributed to the content.

Graphics prepared by Adongo Kyalo.