The government may have been quietly engaging Adani Group to lease Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) for over a year, new court details suggest.
In a case where President William Ruto’s chief economic advisor David Ndii is named as someone who knew about the deal, it’s claimed the Indian conglomerate, through Adani Airports Holding Ltd, submitted a privately initiated proposal (PIP) to the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) on April 25, 2023, for the development of JKIA under a public-private partnership.
According to Tony Gachoka, Jubilee Party, Wiper Party, Democratic Action Party Kenya (DAP-K), and Mount Kenya, the PIP was copied to Ndii, the National Treasury, and the Ministry of Roads and Transport.
However, Gachoka’s lawyer, Ndegwa Njiru, argued that they remained silent about the deal until this year when Adani allegedly floated its PIP.
In its case, Adani claimed it proposed refurbishing JKIA on March 1, 2024, after observing the airport’s deterioration in the media.
But Njiru alleged the deal was retroactively arranged to favor the firm. He said the idea to directly procure the construction of a new JKIA passenger terminal was planned with Adani Group in mind.
The lawyer also claimed that on December 13, 2023, KAA contracted advisory services for constructing the new passenger terminal at JKIA.
He told the court the team recommended an Airport PPP, not a terminals PIP, as more beneficial for Kenya.
“On March 1, 2024, the second respondent submitted its PIP for JKIA development under a PPP. On the same day, JKIA sent the proposal to the 9th respondent, PS Mohammed Daghar, who forwarded it to PS Treasury Chris Kiptoo. We believe these events didn’t occur on March 1, 2024,” said Ndegwa.
The court heard that despite the government’s claim that Adani was the only firm interested in developing JKIA, others had floated proposals.
The lawyer mentioned firms from Abu Dhabi, China Road and Bridge Corporation, and Motar Etgil Africa/Corporation America JV, yet the government kept this hidden from the public.
“On June 12, 2023, in a letter about JKIA’s second runway, PS Daghar said KAA hadn’t formally submitted Adani’s PIP or assessed it,” claimed Ndegwa.
He also alleged Adani’s PIP was biased and against Kenya’s public interest.
Ndegwa added that despite the government pushing for Adani to manage JKIA for 30 years, no one knows how much Adani has or will invest.
The lawyer claimed the Indian firm is receiving JKIA for free.
“The PIP lacks investment specifics, even though investment is key to PPP policy. Essentially, JKIA’s revenues are being transferred to the second respondent and its Kenyan partners for private gain—this is sovereign robbery,” said Ndegwa.
The court also heard the government is defying a 2019 Parliament report that protected JKIA from privatization by foreigners.
Ndii’s wife has ties to Apiero consortium in the Sh104 billion Ministry of Health digitization deal with Safaricom.
Apeiro is a subsidiary of Sirius International Holdings, which is linked to Abu Dhabi’s International Holding Company, a firm tied to India’s Adani Group. Directors include Mwende Gatabaki, Ndii’s wife.
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