Marakwet West MP Timothy Kipchumba has termed as “monumental embarrassment” the deal between Adani Group and the government.
Reacting to President William Ruto’s State of the Nation Address, during which the head of state ordered the cancellation of the deal, Kipchumba said action should be taken against those who misled the government.
“It was an embarrassment of monumental proportions. This was a deal that everyone in government defended, including former Prime Minister Raila Odinga,” he explained.
“Today morning, the Cabinet Secretary for Energy Opiyo Wandayi was defending Adani,” he added.
Kipchumba insisted that all those who participated in the deal should be punished.
“Those in the ministry did not properly advise the government on the legality of deal. There will be consequences because there was a contract that had been signed,” he stated.
Ruto ordered the immediate cancellation of the planned Adani Group takeover deal of the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
Ruto at the same time directed the cancellation of the signed deal with the Kenya Electricity Transmission Company, Ketraco.
Ruto said this was in view of new evidence by local investigative agencies and information from partner states that link the Indian conglomerate with graft.
"Honourable members, I have stated in the past and now reiterate today that in the face of undisputed evidence or credible information on corruption, I will not hesitate to take decisive action,” Ruto said.
"Accordingly, I now direct in, furtherance of principles enshrined in Article 10 of the constitution on transparency and accountability, and based on new information provided by investigative agencies and partner nations, that the procuring agencies in the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum, immediately cancel the ongoing procurement process for the JKIA expansion private-public-partnership,” Ruto said.
The President directed the ministries concerned to "immediately begin the process of onboarding new partners because these are important projects”.
The President’s directive was met with cheers and applause from members of both the Senate and National Assembly.
The Adani Group is currently in the eye of a storm with the most recent information indicating that billionaire owner Gautam Adani has been charged with fraud in the US.
The reports indicated that the criminal charges were filed on Wednesday in New York.
