Foreign Agents Registration Bill must not be used to curb critics

The proposed Foreign Agents Registration Bill has raised concerns over its potential impact on civic space and foreign-funded organisations. [Courtesy]

The proposal of a Foreign Agents Registration Bill and repeated denial of entry to an Open Society Foundations senior official this week signal a tightening Kenyan government stance on international financing. If so, how could the Government avoid slipping into the protracted controversy of Uganda’s Protection of Sovereignty Act earlier this year?

Speaking at the 5th Nairobi Caucus on Protecting Critical Infrastructure Systems and Public Spaces on 7 September, Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi announced plans to introduce a Foreign Agents Registration bill. Citing terrorism concerns, the bill, he said, would tighten oversight of foreign funding by requiring foreign agents and lobbyists to register and disclose foreign-funded activities.