United States-based organization The Ford Foundation has denied allegations made by Kenyan President William Ruto o that it supported "anarchy" and is funding the anti-government protests.
The Kenyan protests began as peaceful marches spearheaded by Generation Z Kenyans against proposed tax rises but have since expanded into a larger campaign against Ruto's government.
Since the protests began a month ago, the human rights body says 40 people have been murdered and several others injured.
Ruto slammed the Ford Foundation on Monday, addressing a big crowd, "That money they are giving out to sponsor violence, how are they going to benefit?"
"If they are going to sponsor violence in Kenya, if they are going to sponsor anarchy, we are going to call them out and we are going to tell them that they either style up or they leave."
The Ford Foundation responded in a statement on Tuesday, saying, "We do not fund or sponsor the recent protests against the finance bill."
The Ford Foundation responded on Tuesday, stating, "We do not fund or sponsor the recent protests against the finance bill."
It stated that the agency has provided funding to civil and rights groups nationwide for decades and has a "strictly nonpartisan policy for all of our grantmaking."
While the Ford Foundation backed Kenyans' rights to peaceful campaigning, it stated that "we repudiate any actions or speech that are hateful or advocate violence against any institution, individual, or community."
Edsel Ford, the son of Ford Motor Company founder Henry Ford, founded the group in 1936. It operates globally and seeks to achieve social justice and democratic principles.
