- The CS will appear before the committee on Friday 13, 2024 once the documents have been submitted.
- The Senators had requested the Cabinet Secretary to submit documents outlining the deal, including details of the tender process, the selection criteria, and the ownership structure of Adani.
Image: EZEKIEL AMING'A
Roads and Transport CS Davis Chirchir faced intense questioning from a Senate team after failing to provide documents related to the controversial Adani-JKIA lease deal.
Chirchir had declined to comment on the matter, citing it as sub judice, which did not sit well with the senators.
The Senate Transport Committee members led by Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna, demanded clarity on whether the Kenya Airports Authority had entered into a deal with Adani Commercial Limited to lease Jomo Kenyatta International Airport under a build-and-operate model.
“I also want you to address a preliminary concern that I have personally. If a letter is dispatched from the Senate on August 6, 2024 pursuant to a request dated July 25, 2024 and you confirm that you've received it on August 6, 2024 at your ministry, how is it possible that even today, you don't have any of the documents we have requested?” posed Sifuna.
The senators had requested the CS to submit documents outlining the deal, including details of the tender process, the selection criteria and the ownership structure of Adani.
“We have not entered into any deal with them. What we are doing is we are just reviewing a proposal,” Chirchir told the committee.
Sifuna expressed frustration over the lack of transparency, questioning why the ministry had not submitted the requested documents despite receiving a formal request in August.
He emphasised that the sub judice rule does not prevent the ministry from providing documents, adding that the Senate required evidence of any ongoing court case to justify withholding the information.
In a letter that had summoned the CS to appear before the senators, the committee had sought clarification on the involvement of other companies in the bidding process.
It also sought clarification on the future of JKIA employees and whether public participation had been conducted.
Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei echoed Sifuna's sentiments, arguing that the sub judice rule does not apply unless the information is classified.
“Present evidence to us showing that the matter is actually in court. Because the matter in court does not even touch on the issues of labour,” Cherargei said.
“The CS wants to run away from the responsibility of giving feedback,” he added.
The senators demanded full disclosure, emphasising the importance of transparency in the deal that could impact the country's largest airport and its employees.
Efforts by the committee chairperson Karungo Thangwa who wanted the CS to make submissions were thwarted after members maintained they will not progress without knowing what they are scrutinising.
“There is the issue of whether we should continue without any documents submitted by the departments. I want to tell you members that maybe the department wants us to chase them away so that they can spend another six months before they appear before the committee,” Thangwa said.
“We are going to continue with this issue because it’s a matter of national interest.”
However, the committee members turned down the proposal.
“It is the responsibility of the ministry to table the documents and let us know what difficulty the ministry had from August 6 when they received the letter to today,” Sifuna said.
The CS will appear before the committee on Friday once the documents have been submitted.