The United States Government has launched investigations into a Kenyan school that received a Ksh1.3 billion (USD10 million) loan after claims of sexual abuse of minors emerged.
In a letter dated March 19, Scott Nathan, the Chief Executive Officer of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), directed the corporation's Office of Accountability (OOA) to conduct an independent and robust review of DFC's overall experience with the school.
In March last year, the Intercept, a US media outlet, ran an exposé claiming that the International Finance Corporation (IFC) had failed to take action after reports of sexual abuse were reported at the international school between 2013 and 2018.
Scott has, therefore, directed the accountability wing to investigate whether OPIC or DFC were made aware of the allegations and swept it under the rug.
"As part of this review, I am requesting that OOA assess and perform a compliance review of OPIC/DFC's due diligence in connection with OPIC's 2013 loan to (the school) and supervision of E&S risks related to (the school's) operations, including whether OPIC or DFC was made aware of, or in its role as lender exercising reasonable care should have been aware of, alleged child sexual abuse at Bridge schools in Kenya in light of information that has recently been disclosed by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group. Please also review whether OPIC and DFC failed to take action with respect to any such allegations," He directed.
IFC, the World Bank’s private sector arm, released a comprehensive report regarding its team's actions in regards to the project between 2013 and 2022 under which it made financial contributions to the school.
Scott, in the letter, revealed that the report from IFC's Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO) showed that IFC learned of several issues concerning labor, health, and safety that surfaced during the monitoring of the project.
"Starting in 2018, IFC's CAO initiated the first of several investigations into concerns about the operation of the schools in Kenya. The major concern of the CAO was the IFC's failure to consider the project's potential child sexual abuse risks and, during supervision, failure to address project-related child sexual abuse once it received information relating to that abuse," he added.
The lenders had extended a Ksh1.3 billion to the group of schools in 2013 which catapulted the institution's rapid expansion, especially in slum and low-income neighbourhoods.
The Intercept's exposé had indicated that the staff of IFC failed to carry out due diligence when the allegations were made. The sexual assault claims had been reported to involve teachers at the institutions.
After the concerns were made, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren and her colleague wrote to the U.S. Treasury Secretary asking for independent investigations.
A statement from the Treasury showed that the department was "concerned and alarmed at the prospect that children may have been sexually abused in the context of an IFC project."
Shortly after, World Bank President Ajay Banga told a press conference that he believed the institution did not actively perpetuate the cover-up.
"I think there's a series of things management could have done better. And that's the discussion we're going to have with the board shortly," he told the press.
