The NGO Coordination Board has ordered the immediate closure of the Africa Centre for Open Governance (AfriCOG) and arrest of the organization's directors who include anti-corruption crusader John Githongo.
A spot-check by Kenyans.co.ke confirmed that other directors of AfriCOG include Maina Kiai, Gladwell Otieno, Funmi Olonisakin, Donald Omondi Deya and Stella Chege.
In a letter addressed to the Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI), the NGOs Board Executive Director Fazul Mahamed noted that AfriCOG was not registered under the NGOs Co-ordination Act 1990 as required by the law.
Mr Mahamed asked the DCI to immediately shut down the operations of the organization.
Mahamed also ordered the AfriCOG's Board of Directors to immediately cease operations until the organization acquires a certificate of operation under the act.
He further asked the Governor of the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) to freeze all accounts and funds held under AfriCOG until further notice.
According to the letter from Mr Mahamed, AfriCOG has contravened Section 22(1) of the NGO’s Coordination Act which states: "It shall be an offence for any person to operate a Non-Governmental Organisation in Kenya for welfare, research, health relief, agriculture, education, Industry, the supply of any other similar purposes without registration and certificate under this act."
The Act further prescribes a penalty and a jail term of 18 months and any person who has been convicted of an offence under Section 22(1) of the shall be disqualified from holding office in any NGO for a period of 10 years.
AfriCOG is an independent, non-profit organisation that provides research and monitoring on governance and public ethics issues in both the public and private sectors so as to address the structural causes of the crisis of governance in this country.
This comes a day after the NGO coordination board deregistered the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) associated with Prof Makau Mutua for alleged tax evasion, operating illegal bank accounts and illegal hiring of expatriates.
Read More: NGO Coordination Board Deregisters Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC)
