Court halts JKIA deal with Adani, orders evidence of cancellation

 Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani. [File, Standard]

The High Court has issued an order prohibiting the government from entering into any contract to lease Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to the Adani Group or any other entity or individual.

Justice Bahati Mwamuye also issued an injunction preventing the multinational conglomerate from taking over the management and assets of JKIA pending determination of a case challenging the deal.

The order follows a petition filed by Tony Gachoka, Mt Kenya Jurists, Wiper Democratic Movement, Democratic Action Party of Kenya and the Jubilee Party, challenging the proposed deal. 

The petitioners argue that the lease agreement was marred by procedural flaws and lacked public consultation.

“Pending hearing and determination of the petition, a conservatory order is hereby issued barring the Cabinet and the government from entering into any concession agreement between Adani Group and Kenya Airport Authority (KAA) or any other entities or parties relating to JKIA,” Justice Mwamuye ordered.

The court also directed the government to provide evidence within 21 days to substantiate claims that President William Ruto had cancelled the controversial Adani-JKIA and Ketraco deals, announced in the President’s State of the Nation address last week.

The petitioners, through lawyers Kalonzo Musyoka, Kibe Mungai, Dan Maanzo and Eugene Wamalwa argue that despite the President’s statement, no formal evidence of the cancellation of the contract has taken place.

Musyoka pointed out that the President cancelled two major deals involving JKIA and Ketraco with Indian billionaire Gautam Adani, following the tycoon’s indictment for fraud by US prosecutors.

However, the Attorney General has yet to file evidence of this cancellation in court. In his State of the Nation address, President Ruto said the deals had been cancelled based on ‘new information provided by our investigative agencies and partner nations.’  

The President directed the procurement entities, led by Transport Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir and Opiyo Wandayi of Energy, to cease further implementation of the Adani deals.

In response, the AG and Cabinet Secretaries for Transport and Energy, informed the court that they had not received any formal notice or documentation regarding cancellation of the Adani deals.

Through lawyer Dennis Mosota, they argued that no contract had been signed between the government and Adani, as the deal was still in the preliminary stages. 

“We shall invoke the law on how to deal with such eventualities. We need time to properly and comprehensively respond to the President’s State of the Nation address regarding the alleged cancellation,” Mosota added.

According to the Attorney General, the petitioners’ case was not yet ripe for High Court intervention, as it should have first been addressed by the Public Private Partnerships Committee.

At the same time, the petitioners emphasized need for the hearing of the case to continue for accountability from those who initiated the contested project before their lawsuit was dismissed.

“Public interest litigation such as this must proceed when controversy arises over leasing assets that belong to Kenyans,” they argued.

Kibe stressed that the case must reach its logical conclusion, as they were also challenging the constitutionality of various provisions in the Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) Act, which underpinned the Adani-JKIA deal.

On the other hand, the Adani Group requested to be removed from the case, arguing that the cancellation of the deals by Ruto rendered their involvement irrelevant.