Kenya issues Gazette Notice granting special privileges/immunities to BMGF under the Privileges & Immunities Act (Legal Notice 157)
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s status under the Privileges and Immunities Act (Kenya) (“the Act”) via Legal Notice 157 of 2024
The Order titled “The Privileges and Immunities (Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation) Order, 2024” sets out the legal basis for granting the Foundation certain privileges and immunities in Kenya.
Here are the main points:
The Order may be cited as the Privileges and Immunities (Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation) Order, 2024.
It declares the Foundations — “the Foundation”, being a charitable trust established to fight poverty, disease and inequality in over one hundred and forty countries globally, and with which the Government of Kenya has entered into an agreement for cooperation — to be an organisation to which section 11 of the Act shall apply.
The Foundation is granted the legal capacity of a body corporate in Kenya:
a) to enter into contracts;
b) to institute and defend legal proceedings; and
c) to acquire, hold or dispose of movable and immovable property in accordance with Kenyan law.
The Foundation is granted the privileges and immunities specified in paragraphs 3 and 4 of Part I of the Fourth Schedule to the Act.
The director, officials and staff of the Foundation — while residing in Kenya and performing duties in the service of the Foundation — are granted privileges and immunities specified in paragraphs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 of Part III of the Fourth Schedule to the Act.
However: The Order provides that paragraph 5 (which grants certain immunities to the staff) shall not apply to a Kenyan citizen or a person ordinarily resident in Kenya except solely for the purpose of being an employee of, and working exclusively for, the Foundation.
The Order was made by the Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs (the name given: Musalia Mudavadi) on 19 September 2024.
It was gazetted (published) as Legal Notice 157 of 2024: in Kenya Gazette Vol CXXVI-No 172 on 18 October 2024.
The Order’s commencement date is 4 October 2024.
The Order titled “The Privileges and Immunities (Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation) Order, 2024” sets out the legal basis for granting the Foundation certain privileges and immunities in Kenya.
Here are the main points:
The Order may be cited as the Privileges and Immunities (Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation) Order, 2024.
It declares the Foundations — “the Foundation”, being a charitable trust established to fight poverty, disease and inequality in over one hundred and forty countries globally, and with which the Government of Kenya has entered into an agreement for cooperation — to be an organisation to which section 11 of the Act shall apply.
The Foundation is granted the legal capacity of a body corporate in Kenya:
a) to enter into contracts;
b) to institute and defend legal proceedings; and
c) to acquire, hold or dispose of movable and immovable property in accordance with Kenyan law.
The Foundation is granted the privileges and immunities specified in paragraphs 3 and 4 of Part I of the Fourth Schedule to the Act.
The director, officials and staff of the Foundation — while residing in Kenya and performing duties in the service of the Foundation — are granted privileges and immunities specified in paragraphs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 of Part III of the Fourth Schedule to the Act.
However: The Order provides that paragraph 5 (which grants certain immunities to the staff) shall not apply to a Kenyan citizen or a person ordinarily resident in Kenya except solely for the purpose of being an employee of, and working exclusively for, the Foundation.
The Order was made by the Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs (the name given: Musalia Mudavadi) on 19 September 2024.
It was gazetted (published) as Legal Notice 157 of 2024: in Kenya Gazette Vol CXXVI-No 172 on 18 October 2024.
The Order’s commencement date is 4 October 2024.
Sources
Peoples Dispatch
Gates Foundation withdraws host country agreement with Kenya following legal challenge and public pressure