Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’Oei has clarified the process behind the granting of Host Country Status to the Global Center on Adaptation (GCA), a Dutch-based non-governmental organization.
In a statement on Saturday, October 11, Sing’Oei explained that the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs is mandated to handle such agreements in line with existing laws.
"I have noted media reports touching on the grant of Host Country Status to the Global Center on Adaptation (GCA), an international non-governmental organization based in Rotterdam, Netherlands with Regional offices in Nairobi. dedicated to accelerating climate adaptation solutions globally.
"It is well known that the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs is mandated by the Privileges and Immunities Act (CAP 179 Laws of Kenya) with the responsibility of negotiating and concluding Host Country Agreements with Inter-Governmental Organizations and External Agencies as well as the administration of diplomatic privileges and immunities in the country," he said.
Sing’Oei further outlined the timeline and steps taken before the approval, clarifying that the request was first received in July 2023.
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According to the PS, it then underwent a review process that involved multiple stages, including parliamentary ratification.
"On 27th July 2023 the Ministry received a request for consideration for grant of Host Country Agreement (HCA) from CCA, to facilitate the establishment and operation of GCA's Regional Office in Nairobi, Kenya, to lend support to the country's climate diplomacy and green growth agenda. The process of review of the GCA's application crystalized on 20th April, 2025 when the Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs signed Legal Notice No. 82 granting privileges and immunities to GCA and its internationally recruited staff.
"On 30th September 2025, Parliament ratified the decision to grant GCA's Host Country Status, following submission of the request. stakeholder hearings, and public participation as mandated by section 17 of the Act," he added.
Sing'Oei noted that the privileges extended to GCA are standard and have been similarly granted to more than 170 other non-state entities operating in Kenya since 1984.
"The privileges conferred to GCA are not special. They are similar to privileges conferred to over 170 other non-state Entities providing technical assistance in Kenya since 1984. These include Oxfam, Save the Children, Union of Radio and Television Africa. Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience organization, World Wide Fund for Nature, International Cooperative Alliance, The Centre for African Family Studies, International Planned Parenthood, the Lutheran World Federation amongst others.
"These privileges include tax exemption on specific goods relevant to the organization's functioning. protection from legal suits with respect to good faith actions of the organization and work permits," he further said.
As such, Sing’Oei dismissed claims that the decision was influenced by external political pressure.
"The imputation, therefore, that the Host Country Agreement to the Global Center on Adaptation was granted as a result of external political pressure is without any foundation," he concluded.
This comes nearly a year after the High Court in Nairobi issued a conservatory order suspending immunity and privileges granted to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
In the order issued on Monday, November 25, Justice Bahati Mwamuye prohibited the Foundation alongside its officials, including directors, from enjoying any privileges and immunities under the Privileges and Immunities Act.
"Pending the inter partes hearing and determination of the Application dated 22/11/2024, a conservatory order be and is hereby issued suspending the Privileges and Immunities (Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation) Order, 2024, given and notified as Legal Notice No. 157 made on 19/09/2024 under the hand of the Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, and published in the Special Issue of the Kenya Gazette Supplement No. 181 dated 04/10/2024 at 2941," the verdict read in part.
It added, "Pending the inter partes hearing and determination of the Application dated 22/11/2024, a conservatory order be and is hereby issued prohibiting the 1st Respondent and its Directors, Officers, Staff, and Agents acting under its authority from enjoying or continuing to enjoy any privileges and immunities under the Privileges and Immunities Act [Chapter 179 of the Laws of Kenya] or the Cooperation Agreement between the 1st Respondent and the Government of the Republic of Kenya referred to in Paragraph 2 of the impugned Order."
In October 2024, the government granted the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation special privileges and immunities, recognizing it as a charitable trust under the Privileges and Immunities Act.
"The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, in this Order referred to as "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, is hereby declared to be an organisation to which section 11 of the Act shall apply," read the gazette notice.
This status would allow the Foundation to engage in contracts, manage property, and defend legal actions, similar to diplomatic entities.
Non-Kenyan staff would enjoy legal immunities and tax exemptions while performing their duties in the country, although these benefits do not extend to local citizens unless they are exclusively employed by the Foundation.
