American charitable library initiative runs into legal headwinds

A charitable initiative aimed at improving literacy in rural Kenya has encountered legal challenges following a lawsuit filed by an American charitable organisation.

The organisation has accused its Kenyan counterparts of mismanagement, exclusion, and misuse of funds amounting to Sh38.7 million.

The board of a U.S.-based non-profit organisation filed the case at the High Court in Eldoret, claiming that their local partners—Joshua Choge, Caleb Kipkoskei Choge, and Wilson Kimeli—had deliberately and unlawfully sidelined them.

The U.S. board alleges mismanagement and inappropriate use of the donor funds.

Jordan Choge, the daughter-in-law of the American parties involved, is listed as an interested party in the case.

The directors of KanKen Connect Inc., the U.S. organization, claim that they were "deliberately and unlawfully sidelined" from the KanKen Connect Literacy Foundation, the Kenyan branch of the organization that they helped create and fund.

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According to court documents, Tiffany Ninemire, a U.S. citizen and founder of KanKen Connect, first established a container library in Kenya to serve children in underserved areas.

Collaborating with local partners—including her daughter’s in-laws, Joshua and Caleb Choge—the group formalized the initiative into a registered foundation in October 2021.

In a sworn affidavit drafted by her lawyer, Amazon Koech, Ninemire states that they envisioned a partnership based on trust and transparency.

"Instead, we were completely locked out of decisions regarding the organization we helped bring to life," she said.

Citing Kenyan legal constraints on foreign directors, Ninemire and her U.S. co-directors—Holy Palacio and Daniel Dugas—revealed that they initially accepted informal roles but were promised a voice in decision-making.

They allege that this promise was never honoured.

The situation escalated in 2023 when the U.S. board secured a $300,000 (Sh38.7M) donation for land acquisition and library construction.

According to the applicants, they were excluded from oversight regarding how the funds were spent, and contracts were awarded without their consultation.

“We learned that the construction was awarded to a close family member without tender, oversight, or accountability. The workmanship was subpar, the timeline was delayed, and financial records were concealed,” Ninemire stated.

The court documents reveal that the family member in question, Jordan Choge, who is listed as an interested party in the suit, allegedly received payments without proper documentation and failed to meet contractual obligations.

The applicants are seeking several remedies from the court, including an injunction to freeze the foundation’s bank accounts, except for essential payroll expenses, and to amend the company register to officially include the U.S. directors as members and stakeholders.

“We also seek a declaration that the current governance structure is unlawful, oppressive, and breaches trust, along with an order compelling the Registrar of Companies to amend public records to reflect proper directorship,” Ninemire said.

In her application, she emphasised that donor trust and transparency are fundamental to effective leadership. When these principles are compromised, the communities we aim to serve ultimately suffer.