The High Court Monday granted the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) and the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) permission to file a judicial review challenge to the Kenya Airports Authority’s (KAA) decision to lease the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) to the Adani Group for 30 years.
High Court grants LSK and KHRC's request for leave to file a judicial review to challenge the KAA's decision to lease JKIA to Adani for 30 years.
The court has meanwhile issued a stay prohibiting any person from implementing or acting on the privately initiated Adani proposal… pic.twitter.com/C2bo6Xkmu8— Faith Odhiambo (@FaithOdhiambo8) September 9, 2024
The court, sitting in Milimani and presided over by Justice John Chigiti, issued a conservatory order on Monday, halting all further action on the proposed lease until the case is fully resolved.
This stay order comes as a relief to many concerned parties, including the Kenya Aviation Workers Union, which has strongly opposed the Adani proposal.
The case was certified as urgent, with the court admitting the application for hearing even during recess.
The LSK and KHRC argue in their submissions that the decision to lease Kenya’s busiest airport to a foreign private entity was made without adequate consultation or transparency, a claim that KAA and other respondents must address in their responses, which are due within the next few days.
The substantive hearing will decide whether the lease agreement, which has raised concerns about national sovereignty and job security, can be continued or terminated entirely.
The case is scheduled for further mention on October 8, 2024.
This comes as the Kenyan delegation led by senior managers of the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) is scheduled to visit India on a fact-finding mission.
The Indian firm has proposed to upgrade the airport, including the construction of a second runway and a new passenger terminal under a 30-year lease.
In the Sh246 billion deal, the Gautam Adani-owned Indian firm would upgrade the airport, including the construction of a second runway and a new passenger terminal, under a 30-year-build-operate-transfer (BOT) contract.
The firm will also be expected to carry out renovations and refurbishments to the airport.
It will also be responsible for the development and operation of JKIA- Kenya’s largest aviation facility and East Africa’s busiest airport.
The government has defended the deal insisting that JKIA was stretched beyond its capacity of 7.5 million passengers a year and urgently needed improvements.
The statement said modernising JKIA could cost $2 billion, which the government was “constrained to fund due to the tight fiscal situation”.
Transport Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir while appearing before Parliament for vetting defended the Sh246 billion deal with the Indian firm over the expansion and takeover of the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport insisting that it is beneficial to the country.
“This is an off-balance sheet upgrade of the Kenya Airports Authority. If we can’t do it as the government, can we allow a private sector player to do it at a reasonable or competitive cost and return on investment?” Chirchir said.
But the union has dismissed the assertions by the government insisting that the role of refurbishing the airport should be taken up by KAA.
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