Sports, Youth Affairs and Creative Economy Cabinet Secretary nominee Kipchumba Murkomen has denied allegations of selling  the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) to Adani Holdings.

Murkomen explained that the deal only involved Adani Holdings’ proposal to renovate JKIA on a Public Private Partnership (PPP) agreement.

He made the remarks when he appeared before the National Assembly Committee on Appointments for vetting on Saturday, August 3, 2024, explaining that the PPP deal involves a collective and thorough process that cannot be struck by a single individual.

“If someone wakes up and says such an elaborate process involves one individual let alone one agency, I have not, and do not have the capacity, to sell JKIA. A PPP process is a collective process. I want to assure you, JKIA is safe, your assets are safe,” he said.

The Sports CS nominee added that the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) is currently reviewing the proposal from the Indian firm to assess its suitability.

According to Murkomen, KAA will submit the document to a PPP directorate at the National Treasury where public views will be considered.

If Adani meets the threshold required as a private sector partner, Murkomen noted that the process will move to a contracting authority which will then write back to the Transport Ministry.

Upon consideration, the Transport CS will write to the Attorney General, who will go through the deal and forward it to the Treasury CS. 

After going through all the processes, a memo will be tabled in Cabinet for review and approval.

At the same time, the former Transport CS disclosed that the public would have been informed of the deal during the public participation stage in July 2024 but was disrupted by the protests.

Murkomen also explained that the JKIA deal was similar to the Nairobi Expressway deal whereby the government entered a deal with a Chinese firm to build and toll the road for 30 years before handing it to the government.

“The truth is the President has said it publicly, the people of Kenya need to be taken through the process of PPP. The PIP (Privately Initiated Proposal) which is the case of JKIA is not the first one,” he noted.

“The first PIP was the Expressway, the government evaluated and found a proper contractor and now we have the Expressway with a contract period of 30 years, transferrable back to the people of Kenya once the road is used and maintained.”

According to Murkomen, the JKIA deal will help the country renovate one of its major infrastructures that has in the past been criticised over leaking roofs.