British charity fights closure for sharing security information

Justice George Odunga. PHOTO | FILE 

By BRIAN WASUNA, bwasuna@ke.nationmedia.com

In Summary

• The regulator last month lost a bid to set aside Justice Odunga’s orders after holding that it was still investigating INSO’s activities, and that complying with the orders posed a threat to national security.
• INSO has since asked the NGO Co-ordination Board to advise it on the security alerts it sends to embassies and NGOs even as it insisted that all its foreign staff working in Kenya have valid special passes and are not operating illegally.

International NGO Safety Organisation (INSO), a British agency, has launched a legal battle to keep its Kenyan operations on course after its licence was suspended over alleged passing of sensitive information to foreign governments.

The NGO Co-ordination Board last year accused INSO of sharing sensitive national security information to the UK and Swiss governments as well as the European Union and withdrew its operating permit,
setting the stage for the legal battle.

Kenyan authorities did not initially reveal the reasons behind the British agency’s suspension, but that has now been made public through the suit papers. 

“The board has, however, confirmed from yourselves and other sources that your organisation is now fully engaged in investigations and provision of information touching on national security of Kenya to foreign governments without the knowledge of the Kenyan government,” the NGO board said in a letter to INSO, adding that it had confirmed that the UK agency had shared sensitive national security information with the UK High Commission, Swiss Embassy and the European Union.

“A departure from your main objective coupled with several breaches of the terms and conditions attached to your registration that are well enumerated in our letter to you is tantamount to gross violation of the NGOs Co-ordination Act,” the letter said.

The board, which regulates the non-governmental sector, then separately instructed Barclays and Standard Chartered banks to freeze INSO’s three bank accounts before the British aid agency obtained a court order temporarily allowing it access to funds held in the accounts.

INSO is also accused of employing foreigners in Kenya without work permits.

READ: British charity battles NGO regulator for licence

The British NGO has enjoined Kenya’s Ministry of Interior, the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), Standard Chartered and Barclays banks in the suit.
Justice George Odunga has ordered the NGO Co-ordination Board to temporarily lift INSO’s suspension until he has determined the suit.

INSO says it has since the suspension of its licence become the subject of investigations by the Interior ministry and the CBK, adding that the NGO Co-ordination Board’s letter is a misrepresentation of its presence in Kenya.

“The contents of the NGO Co-ordination Board’s letter dated June 16, 2016 are unfounded and alarming as they falsely report on the activities of INSO and as a result INSO is now exposed to unwarranted attention, scrutiny and investigations by the Interior Ministry and the CBK,” Marcos Ferreiro, INSO’s country director, says in court papers.

The agency however admits to sending security alerts to its partners, but says it thought the government has always been aware of the “transparent” activities. 

Fully transparent

INSO has since asked the NGO Co-ordination Board to advise it on the security alerts it sends to embassies and NGOs even as it insisted that all its foreign staff working in Kenya have valid special passes and are not operating illegally.

“INSO has always been fully transparent and open about its activities; and many meetings and communications whether—formal or informal—have occurred between the NGO Co-ordination Board and INSO since its registration four years ago, the agency says, adding that it assumed the Government of Kenya through, the NGO Co-ordination Board, was fully aware of its services, including security alerts that have been sent since INSO inception in 2012.

The regulator last month lost a bid to set aside Justice Odunga’s orders after holding that it was still investigating INSO’s activities, and that complying with the orders posed a threat to national security.

INSO says it only learnt of the suspension in June when Barclays Bank told it that two accounts it holds with the lender had been frozen and its operations stopped.

Justice Odunga granted the temporary orders lifting INSO’s suspension after the NGO argued that the regulator did not grant it a fair hearing, citing the failure to issue it with a suspension notice as required by law. INSO also faults the board for ordering Barclays and Standard Chartered to freeze its bank accounts before informing it of the move.

Court papers also indicate that the agency has been in talks with the NGO Co-ordination Board over the submission of its audited books of accounts since starting operations in Kenya in 2012.

INSO is a global agency that offers support services to other NGOs working in crisis-hit areas. The British agency says it currently provides support services to more than 180 NGOs that are now affected by the regulator’s decision.

The NGO board, while suspending INSO, also claimed that the UK agency was running an illegal bank account at Standard Chartered Bank for its Somalia arm, arguing that INSO-Somalia is not registered in Kenya hence should not operate an account in Nairobi.

But the British agency maintains that INSO-Somalia is not a full-fledged NGO, but is just a refugee project it is running in the crisis- hit nation.

The board had held that INSO should have appealed its decision before going to court, but Justice Odunga held that it would be in the best interest of justice to lift the suspension and the account freeze until he has determined the suit. He will hear the case on October 31.
bwasuna@ke.nationmedia.com