The Kenyan government has closed a US-funded project to educate voters in the run-up to next year’s elections in the latest sign that President Kenyatta fears foreign interference could sway the polls against him.
Mr Kenyatta, who had studied at Amherst College in Massachusetts, claimed money was coming to Kenya “in the guise of supporting good governance or civic education”.
“Its true intention is to influence our electoral choices,” he said. “This is our country, and no one should ever try and control our choices for their selfish interests.”
Robert Godec, the US ambassador, rejected what he called an “attempt to discredit the United States”. He said his government was trying to “assist Kenyans in the conduct of free, fair, peaceful and credible elections in 2017”.
The Kenyan body which regulates non-government organisations said the International Foundation for Electoral Systems, which was implementing the $20 million project, was not properly registered and that its foreign staff were working in Kenya illegally.