A group campaigning to bring more transparency in deals between the government and private companies in Kenya is honoring a business student as a hero. The name of this student is Nelson Amenya.
Kenya’s recent history is full of stories of big deals in which corruption has taken place. Despite the laws in place to prevent corruption, people suspect that corruption is still going on in deals.
30-year-old Nelson Amenya is studying MBA in France. In July this year, he leaked some information about the proposed deal between Kenya and the Adani Group on social media.
This raised concerns about the management of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), the largest airport in the country and the region. People have been waiting for the modernization of this airport for a long time.
After leaking information about the proposed deal, Nelson’s identity is growing as an anti-corruption activist.
“At first (the document) I thought it was just a normal government deal. I didn’t understand its seriousness or importance,” Nelson told the BBC.
According to the documents, a $2 billion deal was proposed to modernize JKIA and contract out its operation to Adani for 30 years.
While reading the document, Nelson felt that if the deal went ahead, it could “prove to be damaging to Kenya’s economy”, with all the profits going to the Indian multinational company.
What he read about the deal made him feel that it was not a fair deal because Kenya would have to bear a large share of the cost, but it would not get much financial benefit from it.
Nelson said he had good reasons to believe the documents were legitimate. He said, “The people who gave me these documents were legitimate, they were connected to government departments.”
The Adani Group is involved in infrastructure, mining, and energy projects in countries around the world, including Israel, the United Arab Emirates, France, Tanzania, Australia, and Greece.
Adani Group founder Gautam Adani is considered a big face of the Indian economy. He is also said to be close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
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Nelson said that after reading the document, it was revealed that if the Adani Group could not profit from the investment made in this deal, then it would have to be paid to the Kenyan government.
He alleges, “The President, Kenya Airport Authority, and the Minister; everyone had broken the trust of the people. Everyone had deceived the people.”
‘I was risking my life’
Even after having the evidence in hand, Nelson Amenya was forced to think about what to do next.
He was also in danger. However, it was beneficial for him to stay in France instead of Kenya, where anti-corruption activists were targeted. Some activists also lost their lives here.
He told the BBC, “I was a little scared. I didn’t know what was going to happen. I was putting my career at stake and risking my life. I was questioning myself, why should I take such a risk?”
However, he said that in the end, he felt that keeping quiet was not an option. He says, “You know, only cowards live long.”
After reading the documents carefully for several weeks, Nelson Amenya leaked them on the social media platform X in July. Soon after this, there was an uproar in Kenya.
JKIA airport employees started a strike demanding the cancellation of this deal.
Nelson Amenya said, “I felt that this is my duty to my country. Even though I am away from the country, I still have a duty to my country. I want a better Kenya. I want to see my country developed, there should be industries here and corruption should end.”
He was concerned that the airport deal was a foreshadowing of what was to come.
Nelson said it wasn’t just the unusual terms and lack of transparency of the deal. He alleged that Kenyan laws also appeared to be systematically ignored.
“The authorities never took the appropriate steps to support this company and did not follow due process,” he said.
He alleged some government officials wanted to circumvent legal requirements, including public consultation, and procedures designed to prevent the government from misusing taxpayer money.
In April, a report from the Kenya Airports Authority on the proposed deal revealed it had no plans to talk to “stakeholders”.
Nelson Amenya said, “This was in April, even when I was leaking the documents on social media in July, they did not allow the general public to participate in this matter, that is, there was no public participation. This deal was being done in a very secretive manner and they were going to sign it after a month.”
“When I presented the documents regarding this agreement, the government in a hurry pretended to have public participation. They called the employees of Kenya Airport Authority and started holding meetings with ‘stakeholders’.”
What did the Adani Group say?
Several officials and government departments in Kenya denied the allegations of corruption in the entire process and then went on to sign another deal with the Adani Group related to the construction of power lines. This deal was also worth millions of dollars.
The Adani Group called Nelson Amenya’s claim baseless and malicious.
An Adani Group spokesperson told the BBC, “The proposal was made by Kenya’s public-private partnership rules. It aimed to build a world-class airport there and to boost the economy thereby creating many new jobs.”
The Adani Group said that no contracts were signed because “discussions on a binding agreement did not proceed.”
The Adani Group said in its statement that its agreement in the energy sector was completely transparent and the company denies all the allegations against it. Whatever project the company starts, it is done according to the law of the respective country.”
But it is not that the government changed its mind only because of Nelson Amenya.
Gautam Adani was accused of paying a bribe of $250 million to get a contract for one of his companies in the US. After this news came out, the Kenyan government took action.
On the other hand, the Adani Group denied the allegations of American prosecutors and called them “baseless”.
‘I had tears in my eyes’
Last month, Kenya’s President William Ruto announced in Parliament the cancellation of both agreements with the Adani Group.
William Ruto said in his speech in Parliament, “If there is concrete evidence or credible information, I will not hesitate to take decisive action.”
People welcomed his statement with applause and celebrated.
William Ruto credited the investigating agencies and allied countries for helping him make this decision.
Nelson Amenya said, “When the President made this announcement, I was in class. I couldn’t believe it. I had tears in my eyes. I was so happy.”
Nelson says he doesn’t see himself as a hero, though he received messages of support from everywhere, including India.
Forty minutes after the class ended, he tweeted, “Goodbye Adani.” This tweet has now become famous.
He says, “It was a special moment. Whatever I did finally paid off.”
However, he feels that this victory came after months of personal struggle and pressure. Soon after making the airport deals public, Nelson was sued for defamation by the Adani Group and a Kenyan leader.
Nelson says, “Some people working in the government were coming to me. They were even ready to give me money to not fight the case. They were saying that take the money and stop this fight with the government.”
Recalling the earlier events, Nelson said, “Giving up would have been the biggest mistake of my life. This would have been a betrayal of the people of Kenya.”
Even after canceling the deal, William Ruto questions why Kenyans opposed it and many of his other projects. He says he will find a way to modernize the airport.
“I saw that the person who stopped the airport from being improved is being called a hero. Hero? What do you gain when you stop the construction of an airport in your country?” William Ruto asked at a public event in December.
“You don’t know how it will be built. Those who are protesting have never even stepped inside an airport. You just want to protest.”
Nelson Amenya, meanwhile, still faces a defamation suit. He is fundraising to raise money for his legal battle. He says his future in Kenya is uncertain.
Nelson said, “I received threats from credible intelligence agencies and many people in Kenya warned me not to return. A lot of people are angry about what I did.”
Nelson says there is a price to pay for all this, and he is prepared to do so.
“We don’t have to wait for someone to save us,” he says.
