How Nelson Amenya Accessed Adani Deal Documents

In the wake of President William Ruto’s decision to cancel the Ksh338 Billion Adani deals on the revamp of the country’s main airport and electricity lines, Nelson Amenya has come out to narrate his role as a whistleblower.

Speaking during an interview with BBC Africa, Amenya disclosed that he received documents about the multi-billion deal from credible sources within government departments.

The 30-year-old who currently studies in France narrated that at first, he failed to recognise the impact the deal would have on Kenyans but after a thorough scrutiny of the documents, he learnt the ripple effects of the privately initiated agreement.

“The first feeling I had when I was passed the documents was that it was just another government deal. I did not understand the magnitude or the seriousness of it,” Amenya told BBC journalists.

“The people who were giving me these documents were from very legitimate departments of government and it was going to hurt the Kenyan economy,” he added.

The whistleblower explained that the deal would have been unfair to Kenyans as it would have consumed much of taxpayers’ money without substantial returns.

Amenya revealed that the deal would further force Kenya to spend even more money if the Indian conglomerate failed to recoup its investments in the country.

“This was a great breach of trust of the people by the leadership of the president, the Kenya Airports Authority and the the minister, they all betrayed the people,” Amenya said.

According to him, aside from the unusual terms and lack of transparency in the deal, another cause for concern was the blatant disregard for the law in the implementation of the agreement.

In March this year, Kenya received a proposal from the Adani Group to take over the running and management of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) for the next 30 years.

Three months later, Ruto’s administration approved the relevant aviation policies, granting the Indian company permission for the planned revamp of the main airport.

The deal, which came to the limelight in July, sparked widespread outrage among Kenyans, particularly aviation workers, who protested the move, citing threats to their jobs.

After months of controversy over the agreement, President Ruto on November 21 during a State of the Nation address, announced the cancellation of the deals.