Nelson Amenya, the whistleblower who made headlines last year after exposing the secret plan to lease Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to India’s Adani Group, has come forward again with new warnings. He has now claimed that the government is making another secret deal with a company based in Dubai. According to Amenya, the deal involves handing over control and rights of a key airport to the firm, though he did not reveal its name.
He believes Adani could still be involved behind the scenes, possibly using Dubai as a tax haven to hide their involvement. This comes despite the previous deal between Kenya and Adani being cancelled following public uproar and legal concerns.
Amenya’s new concerns go beyond just the identity of the company. He warned that the government plans to use Kenyan taxpayers as a financial guarantee for the deal. This means that if anything goes wrong with the investment, the burden would fall on ordinary citizens.
He questioned why any serious investor would need such a guarantee if they believed the project was profitable. He asked why taxpayers should bear the risk if the firm truly had the money and faith in the airport’s value. This warning has triggered fresh worries about the way the government is handling key national assets, especially after the failed Adani deal.
Amenya had previously received praise after he revealed internal documents in 2024 showing the government’s hidden intentions with Adani Airport Holdings Limited. The plan would have handed JKIA to Adani in a move that many said lacked transparency. The exposé forced President William Ruto to cancel the deal after Kenyans demanded accountability.
The matter became even more serious when Adani directors were charged in a US federal court over a Ksh32 billion corruption case. These past events have led many Kenyans to pay attention when Amenya speaks, and his new warnings have stirred public concern again.
What adds to the suspicion is that Kenya recently secured a huge loan from the United Arab Emirates worth Ksh193 billion, with an unusually high interest rate of 8.2 percent.
Amenya’s statement comes just as Kenyans are already feeling the pressure of rising debt and fear more exploitation in the name of development. With such revelations, more people are likely to demand clarity from the government about who exactly is involved and whether the public is being put at risk once again.
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