This was after the Kericho Senator secured temporary orders which prevented the two parties from coverage of the Adani deal.
Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA)-Adani deal whistleblower Nelson Amenya on Tuesday, October 15 cried foul after the Milimani Law Courts barred him and the Standard Group Limited from publishing any content containing remarks by Senate Majority Leader Aaron Cheruiyot about the controversial leasing deal.
Amenya shared the injunction notice dated October 15 on X, which was presented before Honourable R.L. Musiega on October 11. This was after the Kericho Senator secured temporary orders which prevented the two parties from coverage of the Adani deal.
“Pending the hearing and determination of this application inter partes, this court is pleased to issue an order of temporary injunction, restraining Nelson Amenya and the Standard Media Group and any other agent or employee of the Standard Media Group from further publication of the defamatory articles that the plaintiff/applicant complains of herein or any other defamatory article, word, material, testimony or remarks against, of, or concerning Honourable Senator Aaron Cheruiyot in relation to the Adani deal/story,” part of the notice read.
A collage of the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) (background), Chairman of Adani Group Gautam Adani and Nelson Amenya. /VIRAL TEA KE
The notice further directed that the two parties be served with the notices immediately before the hearing on October 22. “The application be served immediately for inter partes hearing on 22nd October 2024 GIVEN under my hand and seal of the Honourable court this 15th day of October 2024,” added the notice.
Failure to adhere to the motion, the two will be liable to legal action after the court cautioned them to “take notice that any disobedience or non-observance of the order of the court served herewith will result in penal consequences to you and any other person(s) disobeying and not observing the same.”
Amenya, in response, vowed not to take Senator Cheruiyot’s move lying down, calling him out for focusing on flimsy matters with sustained determination instead of addressing the problems of the people who elected him to the Senate.
“It’s appalling that when it comes to useless things such as defending their non-existent reputation the political class acts swiftly but when it comes to solving the problems of their electorate it is treated with no sense of urgency. Let’s meet in the corridors of Justice,” Amenya vowed, also faulting Cheruiyot’s choice of lawyer whom he claimed has controversies of his own.
Since he opened the lid to the controversial deal, Amenya has been taking social media by storm by consistently revealing new information and also calling out leaders involved in it.
During a KTN News interview on Wednesday, September 18, Amenya claimed that only Cheruiyot knew about the deal, adding that he shared the deal documents with politicians, claiming that not even Kisii Senator Richard Onyonka was aware of the Adani deal with the government of Kenya.
He however stated that he had no documents to support his statements, and the government would deny the claims because there was no evidence, and even dared the senator to come forward and deny that he travelled to India or was involved in the JKIA-Adani deal.
Senator Cheruiyot on the other hand denied Amenya’s claims that he allegedly received bribes to fast-track the deal which would see Adani take over JKIA for 30 years amidst plans to refurbish the country’s largest airport.
Speaking at the Senate on Thursday, September 19, the Majority Leader expressed that he had never met Gautam Adani, the group’s founder, or any officials of the Indian company, adding that he was not in any position to negotiate on behalf of Kenya in the deal as he did not work for the Ministry of Transport and the Kenya Airports Authority.
“I wanted to put it on record that first, I don’t work for KAA and I don’t work for the Ministry of Transport. I don’t know on what conditions somebody can allege that I brokered a deal between Kenya and another foreign entity whose owner and agents I have never met,” he affirmed.
Cheruiyot went on to accuse Amenya of using the KTN News interview to tarnish his reputation with false claims, arguing that he has toiled to grow and maintain his image in the public eye.
To prevent his reputation from going down further, the Senator declared that he would instruct his lawyers to initiate legal proceedings against him.
Senator Aaron Cheruiyot during a past session. /SENATE