Written By Lisa Murimi
President William Ruto’s attempts to avert a strike by airport workers over the controversial Ksh 246 billion Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA)-Adani deal have hit a major snag.
In a tense five-hour meeting at State House on Monday evening, the President and top government officials struggled to convince the Kenya Aviation Workers Union (KAWU) to abandon their planned strike.
KAWU has demanded full transparency on the JKIA-Adani deal, including the release of the Adani Public Initiation Proposal (PIP) assessment report and minutes from negotiations between the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) and Adani Holdings Limited.
Without these documents, the workers are poised to down their tools on Sunday, September 1, threatening to plunge Kenya’s aviation sector into chaos.
The deal, which involves leasing JKIA to Adani for 30 years, has stirred public outcry. Under the proposal, Adani would receive an 18% equity stake and pay an annual concession fee of $50 million (Ksh6.4 billion), with fees rising by 10% every five years.
This increase is expected to be passed on to airport users, potentially raising ticket prices.
Despite government assurances that the requested documents will be released by Thursday, union leaders remain unconvinced, leaving the strike threat unresolved.
President Ruto urged the union to consider the deal’s benefits, but workers are demanding clarity on why Adani was chosen and fear that the deal could lead to higher taxes and air travel costs for Kenyans
