A merged photo of President Ruto, Adani and aerial view of JKIA
Judge John Chigi of the High Court has referred Proposed JKIA – Adani group lease deal case to Chief Justice Martha Koome, who will form a bench to hear and determine the matter because of the crucial constitutional questions raised hence unsuitable for a single judge to hear.
The conservatory injunction halting the lease’s implementation was also kept in place despite the case being referred to the Chief Justice with a new hearing set for November 11, 2024.
The Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) and the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) filed a joint lawsuit on September 8 to contest the government’s choice to lease the nation’s primary airport to the Indian corporation. The advocacy organisations asked the court to halt the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) agreement in their lawsuit until a ruling is made.
Justice Chigiti of the High Court halted the intended leasing of JKIA with a conservatory order on March 4th 2014, inviting the petitioners to submit judicial reviews for the matter at the time of issuing the orders.
In their appeal, the LSK and KHRC had requested that the court appoint a three-judge panel to hear the case, which they said was of national significance where the judge was set to rule the matter on October 25 of this year.
Adani Group Limited proposed to the government in March of this year to assume management and operations of the major airport for thirty years; The proposal, which included the required aviation policies, was approved by President William Ruto’s administration three months later, giving the Indian corporation an advantage in the JKIA acquisition.
Adani Group promised to manage airport activities, in the plan to invest Ksh238 billion to upgrade and extend the JKIA airport over the said period.
However, the proposition triggered unrest amongst the public. Especially among aviation workers, who protested the lease across the country.
LSK and KHRC filed a lawsuit to halt the lease after the nationwide protests. In their affidavit, they claimed that the airport was a profitable and strategic asset for the country and that leasing it would impede the nation’s advancement.
The petitioners further contended that it was illogical and against the values of responsible public spending, accountability, openness, and good governance to turn JKIA into a private asset.
