Nelson Amenya, the whistleblower in the Adani Group deal with the government to take over Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), has alleged that Senate Majority Leader Aaron Cheruiyot negotiated the deal on behalf of the government.
Speaking on KTN News, Amenya said no politician knew about the deal except Cheruiyot, who was the broker.
Amenya stated that he shared the deal documents with politicians, adding that not even Kisii Senator Richard Onyonka was aware of the Adani deal with the government of Kenya.
He claimed that Cheruiyot met with Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani in India and later brought him to Kenya.
“I am the one who shared the documents with politicians. Nobody, including Senator Onyonka, knew anything about this deal except Aaron Cheruiyot, who is the broker. He was the one who went to India, met with Adani, and brought Adani to Kenya,” Amenya said.
He added that he has no documents to support his statements, and the government would deny the claims because there is no evidence.
However, he challenged the senator to come forward and deny that he traveled to India or was involved in the JKIA-Adani deal.
“I am challenging Aaron Cheruiyot to come and say I’m lying, that he didn’t go to India, and that he doesn’t know the KNH chairman who takes him to the airport, picks him up, and works with this Indian syndicate. He should come out and say this is false,” Amenya asserted.
Amenya also mentioned that the government does not lack the capacity to improve the poor state of JKIA, emphasizing that the issues stem from a lack of maintenance.
JKIA Leaking Roofs Tender
He revealed that a Chinese firm had been awarded a tender worth about Ksh1 billion, without competitive bidding, to repair leaking roofs.
He stated that the firm had been awarded the tender twice, including during Kipchumba Murkomen’s tenure as the Cabinet Secretary for Roads and Transport.
“The first time they were given this tender was in 2020, and then, when Murkomen was in power, they were called again. It was single-sourced, not competitively bid,” Amenya explained.
“This is another malpractice. This Chinese firm obviously did a shoddy job the first time and repeated it again the second time, yet they were still paid Ksh1 billion.”
Amenya said it was mismanagement that led JKIA to its current dire need for an upgrade and a new terminal. He explained that while the airport needs an upgrade, the law should be followed when securing such Public-Private Partnerships (PPP).
Also Read: Adani Group Flags Press Statements About JKIA Takeover
Deal Has not Been Signed
Additionally, Amenya stated that the deal has obviously not been signed yet because, after he exposed it, progress slowed down.
He added that the situation would have been different if he hadn’t exposed the deal and praised the public for opposing it.
“If I hadn’t exposed it, it might have already been signed. However, due to public uproar and the noise being made, it has become impossible for them to sign the deal under the current terms. This is why it has taken them so long to produce the documents,” he said.
Also Read: Adani Clarifies Reports of JKIA Deal Approved Within 17 Days
Deal Documents
Amenya insisted that his claims are reflected in the documents between the government and Adani Group.
He said Adani proposed to the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) that they reduce the workforce at JKIA.
This, he explained, was because governments, including Kenya, employ too many people, some of whom don’t even work.
Adani is asking KAA to allow them to trim the workforce. They have even suggested that KAA find departments to redeploy the employees they intend to release from JKIA.
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