Financially independent civic and community NGOs are vital

The Kenya Community Development Foundation (KCDF) turned 20 this week. Some 300 community and civic leaders from Kenya and as far away as South Africa and Nepal joined them to reflect on community philanthropy, civic responsibility and financially sustainable organisations. The #DurableDevelopment conference conversations seem so different from other developments in the last fortnight they could be in another country.

This week, journalist Walter Menya tragically spent two nights in detention for reporting on the Jubilee Foundation. He was allegedly framed by an employee of the NGO Coordination Bureau. The same Bureau recently declared Jubilee aspirant Mike Sonko’s Rescue Team, Kenya’s best humanitarian NGO, after registering it barely one month before.