'Ata hamjawai kanyaga airport!' President Ruto mocks JKIA-Adani deal critics

President William Ruto has voiced his frustration over the stalling of the upgrading of the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) owing to the cancellation of the Adani Group deal, directing his anger towards Kenyans who opposed the project.

Speaking during the groundbreaking Ceremony for Devki Iron Processing Project in Taita Taveta County, President Ruto was visibly upset over Kenyans opposing the deal that would have seen Adani pour Ksh.260 billion to upgrade the airport through a Public Private Partnership (PPP) model.

The Head of State noted that such Kenyans don't have an alternative in upgrading the airport but constantly hurl insults and oppose his administration's policies.

"The people who don't want to invest anything in them, we glorify them as if they were something. I saw them saying that those who stopped the upgrading of our airport are heroes, mashujaa kitu gani? Airport pale iko kwa runway, inafuja maji, yetu hapa Kenya sijui ni ya aina gani," the President ranted.

"What gain do you get when you stop the building of an airport in your country? You have no clue how it's going to be built, wale wanapinga, ata hawajai kanyaga airport, unapinga tu."

The President reaffirmed that his administration would still embark on upgrading the airport to uplift it to international standards, citing that he was confident Adani Group would have done quality work.

"We are going to build a new airport in Kenya. We may have stopped Adani from building it I was confident he was going to build our airports but because of the law that bars us from engaging with people who have cases," he said.

"That doesn't mean we're not going to build airport, we're going to build a new framework and work with people who believe in this country to get a new airport.”

On November 21, 2024, the President cancelled the Adani deals following reports from the United States government that Gautam Adani, chair of the Indian conglomerate, allegedly paid Ksh.30 billion in bribes to the Indian government to obtain solar energy supply contracts.

The Adani-PPP deal had elicited much opposition and criticism from the public for its opaque nature.

The uproar ensued after whistleblower Nelson Amenya posted documents of the deal online and raised questions on how the government had settled on Adani without opting for a competitive bid. 

Kenyans went on to oppose the Indian firm’s involvement in Kenya after learning that the conglomerate was also planning to invest in other sectors such as energy and health.