Police officers responded to a strike at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) early Wednesday, beating and roughing up some workers protesting an Indian company’s planned takeover.
One of the videos showed a baton-wielding police officer clobbering a man dressed in civilian clothes who is thought to be a protester.
On Wednesday, staff members went on strike in protest of Kenya’s deal with the Adani group, leaving scores of international and domestic travellers stranded.
As the strike began, images on social media showed a crowd of passengers attempting to retrieve their luggage at JKIA.
Plans to lease the airport to India’s Adani Group for 30 years for a $1.85 billion investment have sparked outrage.
Critics claim the plan will result in job losses for local employees and deprive taxpayers of future airport profits.
Freight and passenger fees from JKIA account for more than 5% of Kenya’s GDP.
On Monday, the Law Society of Kenya and the Kenya Human Rights Commission obtained a delay from the High Court, claiming that the agreement lacked “transparency”.
Kenya’s government has defended the agreement as necessary to refurbish JKIA.
It is one of Africa’s busiest hubs, with 8.8 million passengers and 380,000 tonnes of cargo in 2022-23, but it is frequently plagued by power outages and leaking roofs.
According to the Kenya Airport Authority, Adani plans to add a second runway and upgrade the passenger terminal.
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