Kenya’s High Court has temporarily suspended diplomatic immunity and privileges for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. “The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation no longer has diplomatic immunity and privileges in Kenya, at least for now. Kenya’s High Court suspended the immunity after the Law Society of Kenya filed a legal challenge against the government,” Children’s Health Defense wrote. “The Kenyan government in October recognized the Gates Foundation and its employees as a charitable trust with special rights in Kenya, under the Privileges and Immunities Act. The new status exempted the foundation and its employees in Kenya from legal action for acts performed in Kenya as part of official duties,” it continued. “However, the Nov. 25 ruling by Justice Bahati Mwamuye suspends the immunity until at least Feb. 5, 2025, when a court will ‘review progress and set a hearing date for oral submissions on the petition,'” it added. The diplomatic privileges reportedly allowed the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation “to engage in contracts, legal actions, and property transactions within the country” and granted the foundation “tax exemptions and immunity from legal actions related to their official duties.” Kenya Temporarily Suspends Diplomatic Immunity for Gates Foundation The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation no longer has diplomatic immunity and privileges in Kenya, at least for now. Kenya’s High Court suspended the immunity after the Law Society of Kenya filed a legal… pic.twitter.com/OkOJR4xNg7 — Children’s Health Defense (@ChildrensHD) December 3, 2024 The Defender reports: In its legal challenge, the Law Society of Kenya said the immunity “undermines public interest and constitutional principles” and argued that the government’s decision should be declared null and void. Dr. David Bell, a public health physician and senior scholar at the Brownstone Institute, said the High Court’s suspension “shows the Kenyan system is functioning as it should.” “From the point of view of the average Kenyan citizen, granting immunity to a large collection of foreigners working for a private foundation … with financial interests in the drugs they are being told to take should be really alarming,” Bell said. Shabnam Palesa Mohamed, executive director of Children’s Health Defense Africa and founder of the health advocacy organization Transformative Health Justice, said Gates “operates from a position of immense financial wealth and thus political clout. Through using mechanisms of the carrot (funding) and the stick (withdrawal of funding), he holds governments ransom.” Mohamed called the Kenyan government’s decision to offer the Gates Foundation immunity “horrifying” and said it shows “our governments are captured.” The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation – a private entity granted the same privileges and diplomatic immunities typically reserved for sovereign states raises serious concerns about the potential long-term implications for Kenya's national interest. pic.twitter.com/iTDkJ8cpw1 — Okiya Omtatah Okoiti (@OkiyaOmtatah) November 15, 2024 The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has suffered a major setback after the High Court on Monday suspended its privileges and immunities under the Privileges and Immunities Act, which had been granted by the government. The foundation, renowned for its global initiatives in… pic.twitter.com/YnLNFxBp1o — Melissa Hallman (@dotconnectinga) November 26, 2024 “It should be assumed that no one entity would seek such immunity unless they thought they might be at risk of legal penalties,” Dr. Meryl Nass told The Defender. “Gates has been charged with many crimes, including for monopolistic business practices, for conducting a clinical trial involving girls in India that was associated with child deaths and lack of informed consent. He has certainly been accused of false advertising of agricultural products in India and Africa,” Nass added. Per Kenyans.co.ke: Justice Mwamuye warned that failure to heed the court orders will attract legal consequences. “Take notice that any disobedience or non-observance of the order of the court served herewith will result in penal consequences to you and any other person(s) disobeying and not observing the same,” he warned. The ruling by the High Court comes after the President of the Law Society of Kenya moved to court on November 11 seeking orders to have privileges granted to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation be recalled. Pending the conclusion of the case, the Court directed the petitioner to serve the application, petition, and the court order on the respondents as well as interested parties by close of business on November 26, and file an Affidavit of Service in that regard by close of business on November 27. In a gazette notice on October 23, Prime CS Musalia Mudavadi stated that the Foundation had been granted immunity in all its operations within the country leaving Kenyans with raised eyebrows on the implications of the move.