The renowned whistleblower and activist Nelson Amenya has explained why it is difficult for him to return to the country under the current administration. This is the price he is paying for exposing the deal that had many up in arms.
Speaking during an interview with Bloomberg, Amenya said that he still fears for his life following the role he played in lifting the lid on the Ksh246 billion Adani Jomo Kenyatta International Airport deal.
Despite the risk, Amenya, who acknowledged the impact he made through exposing unfavourable government projects, said that he will continue being at the forefront in calling for accountability from the government through online platforms.
"It has affected my life negatively and positively. Negatively, I cannot go back to Kenya. I’m a bit apprehensive about that. So many people have been killed or kidnapped—some are found alive, some are found dead for small things like posting criticisms online," he said.
"It’s the price, I think, that you have to pay for doing things like this, and for me, it’s fine. Of course, I will go back to Kenya—it may be after this government is out of power," he told the publication.
Reflecting on the Adani deal, the 30-year-old who currently studies in a business school in Paris said that he received documents of the multibillion shilling Adani deal " from a source in government" on June 26, 2025, one day after the June 25 finance bill protests.
Amenya was initially unaware of the deal's magnitude, but after a thorough scrutiny of the documents, the full extent of the implications of the deal became clear to him. According to Amenya, the deal has been unfair to Kenyans since it would have led to mass job losses for the airport staff.
Days later, on July 11, Amenya decided to expose the deal through his official X account, which gathered over one million views in less than 24 hrs.
"They sent a DM and wrote, 'Hey, you know the government is about to lease the airport for 30 years.' They shared documents that detailed a $2 billion deal to have Adani take over the modernisation and management of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi for 30 years," he said.
"I didn’t think it was a big issue because, you know, it’s a Third World country, and government deals like this are quite normal. But I carefully read through the documents. The terms of the deal seemed crazy and not a benefit for the country. For example, they were going to fire most of the airport employees and trim the workforce," he added.
Kenya received a proposal from the Adani Group in March 2024 to take over the running and management of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) for the next 30 years. In return, the Indian firm would pay for the expansion of the ageing airport.
Three months later, the government approved the relevant aviation policies, granting the Indian company permission for the planned upgrading of the main airport.
After Amenya's exposé, the deal sparked widespread outrage among Kenyans, particularly aviation workers, who protested the move, citing threats to their jobs.
After months of controversy over the agreement, President Ruto, on November 21, during a State of the Nation address, announced the cancellation of the deals.
The interview with the whistleblower was conducted in January 2025, but it was published on Monday, April 7.
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