Why is Kenya’s Ruto accusing the Ford Foundation of stoking protests?

President’s accusation against the US organisation may be to deflect responsibility for his own actions, say analysts.

The explosion of tear gas canisters, masked protesters wielding the Kenyan flag, throngs of people chanting in unison – these have been the scenes in Kenya for well over a month as thousands have taken to the streets – first to protest against proposed tax hikes and now to air their general grievances with the government.

In recent days, however, Kenyan President William Ruto, a key United States-ally, made a fiery charge: that antigovernment protesters are being funded by the US philanthropic organisation Ford Foundation.

Why did Ruto level this accusation? Here’s everything you need to know:

Protests began in mid-June when Ruto’s government announced tax hikes that would have raised the cost of many basics.

But the $2.7bn tax reform was just the tip of the iceberg: stagnating wages and unscaled corruption have frustrated the populace for years. The tax plan was merely the “straw that broke the camel’s back”, said Al Jazeera’s Malcolm Webb, reporting from Kenya’s capital, Nairobi.