Adani's Kenya dealings spark protests, lawsuits & hearings

Billionaire Gautam Adani's proposal to run Kenya's main airport has sparked protests, Senate hearings and lawsuits against the Adani Group, even as it bags a deal to construct high-voltage power transmission lines in the East African nation, Bloomberg reported.

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A court has already frozen Adani's unsolicited bid to expand Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), while strikes at the facility and criticism from opposition lawmakers has forced the government to defend the opaque circumstances surrounding the deal.

"From the very beginning, there has been a general pattern by the government to hide from the public what is contained in the Adani deal," Governor Anyang' Nyong'o, leader of the opposition Orange Democratic Movement, wrote in Kenya's The Star newspaper this week.

"Past similar projects that circumvented transparent dealings and formal institutional mechanisms litter our history as major scandals." The Kenyan government last week submitted a written explanation to lawmakers of why the proposal was above board. Adani Group said its proposals followed procedures.