Kenyan airport whistleblower who exposed India's Adani Group, fears for his life

Nelson Amenya, the whistleblower who exposed the news of Indian conglomerate, Adani Group, taking over the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in Nairobi, fears for his life in light of the recent events. 

In July this year, Amenya shared the documents revealing that the Adani Group, led by founder Gautam Adani, had been in talks to lease JKIA for 30 years. The talks were reportedly held in total secrecy and apparently with no effort to invite other bids.

"They didn't want it public because of the terms. Adani wanted to keep 18 per cent equity in the airport even after the 30-year lease -- this is crazy," Amenya was quoted as saying by AFP.

Amenya said he only agreed to expose the deal because he is currently studying in France but that does not mean he is safe. 

"I know I'm not safe and I could potentially be taken out at any moment in France. You're talking about a $2-billion deal and you don't know how much has changed hands to reach this stage," he said. 

Amenya said the deal would not have been made public until it was already signed, had he not exposed it first.

"It was the right time to do it because they were just about to sign the commercial agreement and move into the project-development stage."

Notably, soon after his expose, Kenya's Directorate of Criminal Investigations wrote to a carbon credit firm he co-founded, accusing them of selling fake cryptocurrency.

"We don't sell crypto, we don't transact on our website at all," clarified Amenya when quizzed about the accusations. 

Watch | Kenya: Thousands Mourn Children Killed in School Fire

Protests against the lease deal

Last month, thousands of passengers at JKIA were left stranded after Kenya Aviation Authority (KAA) workers went on a strike. 

Kenya Aviation Workers Union said the strike was meant to pressurise the central government to scrap the plan to lease the airport to Adani Group for 30 years in exchange for a $1.85 billion investment.

However, the strike was called off a day later after Francis Atwoli, secretary general of the Central Organisation of Trade Unions (COTU), said the government had come up with an agreement and the plan would only move forward with the union’s approval.

Also read | Kenya workers protesting against proposed takeover by India's Adani Group end strike

Why the protests?

The union as well as critics of the move argue that Adani Group's takeover would lead to job losses for local staff and rob taxpayers of future airport profits.

The strikes were first planned in August but delayed multiple times to allow for negotiations. The Kenyan government has reasoned that the airport is operating above capacity and needs modernising but that it is not for sale. According to reports, Adani would add a second runway and upgrade the passenger terminal. 

(With inputs from agencies)