Kenya was the jewel in the crown of the WE Organization's global empire. It's where they took celebrities and CEOs for life-changing "experiences" with needy children, followed by stays in their 5-star luxury beach resort. It's also where WE co-founder Marc Kielburger hired a private security firm staffed by an ex-Israeli military operative and a Sri Lankan fugitive to deal with Kenyan employees who he thought were robbing or blackmailing him. They in turn accused Marc of kidnapping them and financial misconduct. This is an explosive tale of death threats, bribery and corruption in a country where WE was supposed to be helping.
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Official responses from The WE Organization:
Claims by Peter Ruhiu
Peter Ruhiu has a history of making false statements. In fact, Mr. Ruhiu’s employment with Free The Children Kenya was terminated in 2018 after financial irregularities were discovered by the charity during a spot audit. WE dismissed Mr. Ruhiu, who made a full confession and returned the misappropriated funds. He was criminally charged by Kenyan authorities and has also plead guilty to falsifying a police report.
Phone recording of Peter Ruhiu
Mr. Kielburger was acting in cooperation with the authorities in the conduct of this investigation, as has been documented by various third parties. Moreover, it is evident when listening to the recording that Marc Kielburger initiated the call, noting the date and time, prior to calling Mr. Peter Ruhiu. We have submitted documentation to Canadaland that clearly confirms these facts, including a statement by Michelle Hambly, a Canadian national, who is Mr. Ruhiu’s ex-wife. We also shared with Canadaland extensive supporting documentation including an independent report from the external international agency that was involved in the investigation as well as an independent report from the former Directorate of Criminal Investigations supporting these facts.
Claims by Mr. Kimakeke
Mr. Kimakeke posted a blog for a few days with false materials, accompanied by a solicitation for reader donation/funds. Mr. Kimakeke removed the blogpost five days later, with a statement on the same blogsite renouncing his claims. Mr. Kimakeke has multiple times made false claims, and multiple times renounced those claims. An affidavit signed by Satani Kimakeke was previously provided to Canadaland, dated October 7th, 2020. In it, Mr. Kimakeke said under oath that he had fabricated his past claims about Marc Kielburger. Mr. Kimakeke specifically said “I told Jesse Brown on July 6th, 2020, prior to publication of the information on the Canadaland web site on these matters, that the claims about Marc Kielburger and WE Charity is, in fact, false” …, “however, Jesse Brown published the false information anyways. I also explained to Jesse Brown on Twitter the information was incorrect. He did not modify his reporting or take down false information”.
WE Charity’s responses to Canadaland’s previous questions:
2018 investigation: https://www.canadaland.com/all-of-wes-answers-to-canadaland-and-letters-from-their-lawyers/
2019 investigation:
WE.org Transparency page:
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