Judge Forced To Adjourn Hearing Of Adani Case After Kenyans Disrupt Proceedings [VIDEO]

Kenyans on Thursday, October 17 stormed virtual court proceedings in a case involving Adani Group Limited, forcing the High Court to adjourn the session.

A section of them managed to sneak into the proceedings after accessing details of the online court session and began shouting “Adani Must Go! JKIA is not for sale,” prompting Judge Mwamuye to intervene.

The judge’s efforts to call the session to order hit a snag, forcing him to suspend the proceedings, adding that an appropriate time would be announced in due course in terms of reconvening.

“I understand your protests and I am unable to deliver this judgment now,” the judge said before adjourning the court session for about fifteen minutes. The hearing was then pushed to October 22, 2024.

Here is the video:

Judge Mwamuye forced to adjourn hearing of case challenging JKIA lease to Adani Group after Kenyans jam the virtual session#ViralVideos pic.twitter.com/4r9cu2fdyx
— Viral Tea Ke (@ViralTeaKe) October 17, 2024

Before the disruption, the court commenced its ruling on the petition filed by activist Tony Gachoka and a group of lawyers against the Ministry of Treasury and Adani Group Limited.

Tony Gachoka in his petition which he filed before the High Court alongside a group of lawyers in September this year, challenged the government’s decision to lease the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) to the Indian conglomerate.

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In his suit, Gachoka argued that the Public-Private agreement between President William Ruto’s administration and Adani was reached without adequate public participation. 

The petitioners further argued that the country’s main airport was the flagship project of the Kenya Airports Authority and that leasing it to an Indian company owned by a private citizen contravened the law.

“The airport is a national heritage and the pride of the people of Kenya. It is a national symbol of our sovereignty that goes to the sacred soul of our nation as envisioned and envisaged under Article I of our constitution,” Gachoka argued.

Expanding JKIA has been seen as an overdue move by the government, but leasing it to Adani for a period of up to 30 years has drawn massive uproar, especially over the contents of the deal, some of which have caused anxiety among JKIA workers, with fears that the conglomerate could implement a restructuring of its workforce.

Adani has committed to a Ksh238 billion investment to upgrade and expand the airport. Several stakeholders including the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) and Law Society of Kenya (LSK) however moved to court to stop the deal citing that leasing a strategic and profitable JKIA to a private entity with questionable past reputation is irrational.

A High Court order issued on September 9, 2024, blocked the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) from moving ahead with its decision to lease JKIA to Adani, pending a judicial review filed by the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) and the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC).

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KHRC and LSK sought details from JKIA in July and August 2024. The immediate stay order prevents any action on the Adani lease proposal until the judicial review is concluded, meaning even the government cannot conduct its thorough due diligence investigation into the Privately Initiated Proposal (PIP) submitted by Adani Airports Holdings Limited on the proposal and expansion of JKIA.

A collage of the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) (background) and chairman of Adani Group Gautam Adani. /VIRAL TEA KE