Drama as Adani case adjourned after protesters disrupt court session
A section of courtroom. Courtesy photo
There was drama on Thursday during the hearing of a case seeking to block the deal between the Indian company Adani and the Kenyan government to lease out Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).
Justice Bahati Mwamuye of the High Court, who was due to deliver a ruling on the case, was forced to adjourn the case after Kenyans who had allegedly sneaked into the court, disrupted the virtual session.
Several users had accessed the login details that had been shared before the case was heard.
During the session people started shouting “Adani Must Go”, forcing the judge to postpone the hearing to October 22, 2024.
“The court number to be indicated is on my course list is .....,” Justice Mwamuye was heard saying before a man in the background again shouted “Adani must go!”
Despite Justice Mwamunye's best efforts to bring order to the proceedings, the efforts fell on deaf ears.
The judge was forced to stop the proceedings. The judge announced that an appropriate time to reconvene would be announced in due course.
“I understand your protests and I am unable to deliver this judgment now,” the judge said before adjourning court for about 15 minutes.
The High Court in September temporarily blocked a proposed deal for India's Adani Group to lease the country's main airport for 30 years in exchange for expanding it.
In a joint application, the Law Society of Kenya (LSK), the country's main bar association, and the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) told the court that the country could independently raise the US$1.85 billion required to upgrade the airport in the capital Nairobi.
LSK and KHRC said the alleged 30-year lease of JKIA, East Africa's largest aviation hub, was unaffordable, threatened job losses, was a fiscal risk, and did not offer taxpayers value for money, court documents published by the KHRC on their website showed.
In August, the Kenya Aviation Workers Union called for a strike over the proposed deal, saying that it would lead to job losses and bring in non-Kenyan workers.
Kenya's government has said the airport is operating above capacity and needs modernising, but that it is not for sale and that no decision has been made on whether to proceed with what it calls a proposed public-private partnership to upgrade the site.
It said in July that Adani's offer was being reviewed.
If a deal is agreed, the government said there would be safeguards to ensure Kenya's national interests are protected.
