Over the last seven months, State House has been visited by both local and foreign dignitaries seeking President William Ruto’s attention. Since his appointment last year, Ruto has made it known that he will go to any length to attract foreign investment.
Recently, a little-known Belgian charity, Bridgin Foundation, had a closed-door meeting with the president. The Belgian charity has been traversing the globe for the past decade, promising to invest billions of dollars in infrastructure in developing countries.
However, there is no evidence of completed projects or verification of the source of their funds. They have only one page on their website, which doesn’t provide any detailed information, and it’s not clear who their financiers are.
Bridgin Foundation has signed billion-dollar contracts with several countries, with Kenya potentially joining the list. Journalists visited the building that the foundation claims to operate from in Brussels and found that they had no offices there, and employees confirmed that they periodically hire a room to hold meetings.
It has been established that Bridgin has not filed annual accounts with Belgian authorities since its incorporation. Malawi signed a $6.8 billion deal with the charity, and taxpayers footed the travel and accommodation bills for Bridgin Foundation officials during the contract-signing visit.
However, there is no verifiable physical presence of the Bridgin Foundation, and Malawi’s taxpayers may have given an all-expenses-paid trip to Prof Tanko Mouhamadou, the president of the charity.
