New court documents reveal that the Kenyan government may have been quietly negotiating with the Adani Group for over a year to lease Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).

President William Ruto’s chief economic advisor, David Ndii, is mentioned as to have been aware of the deal.

It is alleged that on April 25, 2023, Adani Airports Holding Ltd., part of the Indian conglomerate, submitted a privately initiated proposal (PIP) to the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) for the development of JKIA under a public-private partnership.

Sharing of the proposal

According to Tony Gachoka, the proposal was also shared with Ndii, the National Treasury, and the Ministry of Roads and Transport, with political parties like Jubilee, Wiper, DAP-K, and Mount Kenya .

However, Gachoka’s lawyer, Ndegwa Njiru, alleges that the parties involved kept silent about the deal until this year, when Adani reportedly submitted its proposal.

Adani, in its defense, claims that it proposed the refurbishment of JKIA on March 1, 2024, after learning about the airport’s declining condition through media reports.

Lawyer Ndegwa Njiru, however, claimed that the deal was being retroactively structured to benefit the Adani Group.

He argued that the decision to directly procure the construction of a new passenger terminal at JKIA was made with Adani in mind.

The lawyer further alleged that, under a contract dated December 13, 2023, the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) secured advisory services for the terminal’s construction.

“Not surprisingly, on March 1, 2024, the second respondent submitted its PIP to the KAA for the development of JKIA under a public-private partnership. On that same day, KAA forwarded the proposal to the 9th respondent, PS Mohammed Daghar, who then passed it on to PS National Treasury, Chris Kiptoo. The petitioners strongly believe that these actions did not actually occur on March 1, 2024, as claimed,” argued Ndegwa.

The court was informed that, contrary to the government’s assertion that Adani was the only company interested in developing JKIA, other firms had also submitted proposals.

The lawyer claimed that Abu Dhabi, China Road and Bridge Corporation, and Motar Etgil Africa/Corporation America JV had all proposed to develop JKIA through a public-private partnership (PPP).

Despite all these proposals being in KAA’s possession, the government allegedly failed to make them public.

Ndegwa further stated that in a letter dated June 12, 2023, referencing the “Proposed Construction of a Second Runway at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA),” the 9th respondent, PS Mohammed Daghar, acknowledged that KAA had not formally submitted Adani Airport Holdings Ltd.’s PIP, nor had they completed a preliminary appraisal.

He also strongly argued that the PIP submitted by Adani is skewed and undermines Kenya’s public interest.

Despite the government’s strong support for Adani to take over JKIA for 30 years, Ndegwa claimed there is no clear indication of how much Adani has invested or plans to invest in the project.

The lawyer further alleged that the Indian firm is being handed control of JKIA without contributing any funds.

“Adani Group’s PIP does not specify the investment amount, despite investment being the key criterion for a PPP under the 2011 Policy on PPPs and subsequent legislation. In effect, the existing and future revenue of JKIA is being transferred to the 2nd Respondent and its undisclosed Kenyan partners for their private gain. This is a blatant case of sovereign robbery,” Ndegwa claimed.

The court was informed that the government is defying a 2019 parliamentary report that protected JKIA from privatization or foreign control.

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