Kenya Nixes Deals with India's Adani Group, Citing Corruption Evidence

Kenya’s President William Ruto announced on Thursday he was canceling the deal with India’s Adani Group to lease the main international airport. The move came a day after a New York court charged Adani’s directors for a multimillion dollar bribery and fraud scheme.

In his state of the nation address in Kenya, Ruto also said he was canceling a deal between Adani Group — one of India largest and most politically influential conglomerates — and the Kenya Electricity Transmission Company that had been signed in October. 

“I have stated in the past and now reiterate today that in the face of undisputed evidence or credible information on corruption, I will not hesitate to take decisive action,” Ruto said in parliament. 

A few months ago, Ruto said that reports on the airport deal’s existence were “fake news.”

On July 24, OCCRP revealed the details of Adani Group’s proposal worth US$2.5 billion to lease Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) for 30 years. This was approved by the Kenya Airports Authority, even after experts had advised the Kenyan government to put out a public tender to expand the airport, according to documents. There had been no public hearings surrounding Adani’s proposal, which had been approved to a “development phase.”

Adani Group’s proposal said that the airport project would be “highly dependent on favorable tax policies” from the Kenyan government. The deal was widely criticized and sparked anti-government protests and a strike by airport workers. 

Nelson Amenya, the whistleblower who broke the news of the deal on X back in July, told OCCRP that he was feeling “super, super overwhelmed” by news of the cancellation.   

“What this means is that the citizens are more emboldened,” he said. “We feel that now we can affect change in this country.” 

Ruto’s announcement was a roundabout move for the government. Last week, prior to the Adani executives’ indictment in New York, Kenya’s transport cabinet secretary Davis Chirchir defended Adani Group and the airport deal in parliament. 

“Adani has not been barred by any country, has no history of corruption based on our due diligence, is solvent, and is tax compliance in all jurisdictions where it operates,” Chirchir said.