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In charge of registration and compliance of NGOs in Kenya, the Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) Co-ordination Board was established in 1990 with the NGO Coordination Act. Following the passage of the 2013 Public Benefits Organizations Act, regulatory responsibility should have passed to the Public Benefit Organization Regulatory Authority (PBORA). As of 2016, there is however no evidence that this law has yet been enacted.

The NGOs Co-ordination Board estimates that since its creation in 1992, about 12,000 NGOs have been registered, with a growth of approximately 500 NGOs per year. These NGOs "operate in virtually all sectors of the economy and can be found in all corners of the Country." In its latest 2018-2019 Annual Report, the Board reported the cumulative number of NGOs registered to be of 11,262 organizations.

A recent survey of the size, scope and financing of the non-profit sector in Kenya revealed that 90 percent of the non-profit organizations (NPOs) sampled were registered. Most of the organizations that are not ‘registered’ under a specific law were self-help groups or women and youth groups, which can be registered under administrative regulations of various government departments.

Definition
Section 2 of the NGO Co-ordination Act of 1990 defines NGOs as "a private voluntary grouping of individuals or associations, not operated for profit or for other commercial purposes but which have organized themselves nationally or internationally for the benefit of the public at large and for the promotion of social welfare, development charity or research." NGOs are required to register if their activities include “welfare, research, health relief, agriculture, education, industry, the supply of amenities or any other similar purposes."

Political advocacy
According to the 1992 NGO regulations, registered organizations aren't allowed to “engage in fundraising or campaigning to support or oppose any political party or candidate for appointed or elected public office, nor may it propose or register candidates for elected public office." NGOs are also not allowed any affiliations with political entities outside of Kenya, and it is discouraged domestically.

Economic activities
The 2013 Public Benefits Organizations (PBO) Act regulates economic activities such that only allows actions from which the income is used “solely to support the public benefit purposes for which the organization was established" is allowed. As long as this requirement is met, NGOs are free to own and manage property and assets, as well their income drawn from various sources (donations, membership fees, grants, ect...).

Establishing law
The NGOs Co-ordination Board manages all registration under the Sections 10-11 of the NGO Co-ordination Act and Part III of the Regulations (L.N. 152/1992).

Tax law and exemptions
PBOs (public benefit organizations) are exempt from: (i) income tax on income received from membership subscriptions and any donations or grants; (ii) income tax on income acquired from the active conduct of income-producing activities if the income is wholly used to support the public benefit purposes for which the organization was established; (iii) tax on interest and dividends on investments and gains earned on assets or the sale of assets; (iv) stamp duty; and (v) court fees.

Registration of NGOs
Prior to registration, the NGOs Co-ordination Board provides a step by step guide to help NGOs register. The NGO Coordination Board also provides guidance on basic operations, changes, and dissolution after NGOs register to answer any questions the organizations might have about the functioning of the board and its operations and to help avoid legal penalties.

Ensuring compliance
The NGO Co-ordination Board has the power to investigate any complaints regarding an NGO. The Director of Board has the authority to deny NGOs registration if the proposed activities are not in the national interest, false information is included in the application, if the name is already in use, or if the NGO Council recommends against the creation of an organization. Moreover, the Board is not obligated to provide a reason for the denial of registration.

The Regulatory Committee of the NGO Co-ordination Board is authorized to ensure compliance by registered organizations. Sanctions range from verbal warnings to the freezing of bank accounts and cancelation of registration. The NGO Co-ordination Board is nevertheless obliged to notify NGOs of the potential cancellation of their registration (Form 9 NGO re-instatement).

In according with the 1990 NGO Coordination Act, the government of Kenya retains the power to criminalize NGO activity that does not align with national interest. If an NGO is found in breach of the regulations, staff members can receive a prison sentence of up to 10 years or expatriation in the case of foreign NGOs.

Information Collection
The NGOs Regulations (1992) and the NGO Coordination Act of 1990 state that NGOs must submit their annual returns to the NGO Coordination Board within three months of the end of their financial year, in the prescribed format of Form 14, which is set out in the schedule to the Regulations. Form 14 seeks information regarding finances (for instance, the amount expended on various institutional and project areas, as well as the amount spent on certain fields of activity), collaborating partners, and project and governance details.

In practice however, the Board estimated that only 34% of active NGOs had filed their reports for the year 2018-2019, demonstrating a low level of compliance with the regulation. This is despite the fact that Annual Reports (Form 14) are mandatory for NGOs to fill in and submit to the NGOs Co-ordination Board.

Information Publishing
While the 1990 NGO Co-ordination Act does not oblige the NGOs Co-ordination Board to make its registry available, the Board does publish Annual NGO Sector Reports that analyze the role of NGOs in Kenyan society through data gathered from NGOs’ Annual Reports.

History
In the history of NGO registration in Kenya, the most prominent change has been the Public Benefit Organizations Act of 2013. Previously, the accepted legislature was the NGO Coordination Act of 1990 with the amendment of the NGO Regulations of 1992.

The Societies Act similarly provides that every society which is not a registered society or an exempted society is an unlawful society. Hence, where ten or more persons get together, they are expected, according to the law, to have that group registered. There are stiff penalties for operating as a society without a registration certificate. This legal provision is, however, rarely enforced.

Recent Developments
The Public Benefits Organizations Act, which seeks to repeal the NGOs Co-ordination Act of 1990, was enacted in 2013. However, the law has never been implemented despite multiple court orders for its enactment.

Despite its disinclination to implement the PBO Act, the State sponsored amendments to the Act through Section 96 of the Security Laws (Amendment) Act 2014. These attempted amendments, including provisions to limit foreign funding for Kenyan NGOs, were strongly resisted by the NGO sector led by the CSO Reference Group. In response to NGO objections, the Kenyan government appointed a task force of stakeholders to review the law.

In October 2014, almost 1000 NGOs were threatened with deregistration by the NGOs Co-ordination Board ostensibly for financial mismanagement, Kenyan NGOs and donors suspected an underlying political pressure tactic. Following this, the Minister of the State Department of Devolution reversed the decision.