Government sued over controversial Adani energy deal

Police officers tries to contol some of the stranded passengers at JKIA after aviation workers staged a strike over contraversial take over by a foreign investor on September 11, 2024. [Collins Oduor, Standard]

The government has been sued for awarding a controversial multi-billion tender for constructing three electricity transmission lines and two substations to India’s Adani Group.

The lawsuit, filed by the Commission for Human Rights and Justice through its director, Julius Ogogoh, alleges that the agreement between Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (Ketraco) and Adani was conducted secretly, without proper public participation.

According to court documents, officials from the National Treasury allegedly made a quiet visit to Ahmedabad, India, in January to engage in discussions with Adani regarding the implementation of transmission public-private partnerships (PPPs). 

“The Controller of Budget revealed this visit during her report to Parliament in late September 2024, noting that taxpayers bore the cost of the trip, amounting to Sh1,252,540 for just two officials,” the petition states. And added: “The decision of Ketraco to entertain a PPP project initiated by Adani without due process was improper.”

Ogogoh’s affidavit details that on December 18, 2023, Ketraco issued an introductory letter on behalf of Adani Energy Solutions Limited, informing the Indian company of its two proposals for the transmission lines project under the PPP framework, supposedly guided by the Public Private Partnership Act. 

The letter indicated a timeline of June 2024 for Adani to present Project Development Reports for government consideration. The petitioner references a letter from the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) dated July 18, 2024, which discussed an application by Ketraco for Provisional Tariff Approvals for the Adani project. 

“The approval was granted by the Technical Committee of EPRA during its 25th Special Meeting on July 22, 2024,” Ogogoh states.