NGOs board boss Fazul Mahamed during a past media briefing. [Photo/ the-star.co.ke]
Mombasa-based civil society groups have demanded the removal of NGOs Coordination Board head Fazul Mahamed from office.
More than 23 organisations in the county say acting Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i should move with speed and replace Fazul with a competent person who can effectively run the NGOs Coordination Board.In a press statement, the organisations said Fazul does not hold the required academic qualifications to hold his current position.“All we are seeing is a character who has little knowledge on how NGOs ought to operate. He is only acting on orders to frustrate some of us who have been critical of the Jubilee regime,” read the statement in part.The societies said the government should desist from taking administrative measures against any NGO and comply with provisions of international instruments to which they are signatories.“We denounce any form of harassment on NGOs. This is only meant to prevent them from carrying out their mandate.”The organisations said the “suspicious timing” of the board’s crackdown may be a move aimed at influencing election monitoring reports.The statement was issued hours after police and officials from the Kenya Revenue Authority raided offices of AfriCOG at Lavington Nairobi over claims the organisation operates in the country illegally and has not been remitting taxes as expected.Matiang'i on Wednesday afternoon directed the NGO's Board to halt the de-registration of Kenya Human Rights Commission KHRC and AfriCOG.