Whistleblower Names KNH Chairman Samier Muravvej As Part Of Local Indian Cartel Behind JKIA Takeover Deal With Adani Group

The whistleblower of the controversial Adani Group secret deal for the takeover of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) has named Dr. Samier Muravvej, Board Chairman, Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH), as one of the key players who’s silently facilitating the hostile takeover of the airport, an issue that has dominated national conversation since the protests.

Nelson Amenya, the whistleblower, places Dr. Samier at a key role in what he describes as an ‘Indian Syndicate’ working with the Adani Group to takeover the operations of the airport.

Dr. Samier is not new to controversies, as portrayed by his tenure at the national healthcare facility. Recently, he was linked to a multimillion-dollar oxygen tender row that saw the key infrastructure stalled amid war with corrupt CEO Dr. Evans Kamuri, who’s under EACC investigation for looting the hospital millions.

During an appearance in parliament, it emerged Dr. Samier had conflict of interest in the oxygen plant tender as he had his own preferred suppliers.

Insiders also accuse him of flaunting procurement procedures and more than often brings in his own suppliers and has placed himself as a cartel boss rather than a chairman of the facility.

Aaron Cheruiyot

Back to the JKIA saga, Kericho Senator has also been named as the man who brokered the controversial deal and the link to Dr. Samier. During a live interview with KTN on Wednesday, Amenya revealed the unholy relationship between the two and untold details about the behind-the-scenes of the Adani deal.

“I am the one who shared the documents with politicians. Nobody, including Senator Onyonka, knows anything about this deal except Aaron Cheruiyot, who is the broker in this deal, and he was the one who went to India, met with Adani, and brought Adani to Kenya.” Amenya said.

“I am challenging Aaron Cheruiyot to come and say I’m lying that he didn’t go to India and that he doesn’t know the KNH chairman takes him to the airport, picks him, and all this Indian syndicate that he is working with. He should come out and say that this is false.” He went further.

More revelations

One of the key fears of the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) staff with the Adani deal has been loss of jobs after takeover. While the group has tried to allay fears, Amenya didn’t have kind words for them: “Basically, everything I have talked about on my X account is what they will find in these documents. They will find that Adani proposes to KAA that they (Adani) will reduce the workforce exponentially because obviously governments all over the world employ too many people and sometimes they are not working, which also happens in Kenya. What Adani is asking KAA is to allow them to trim the team. They even put in that proposal that KAA needs to look for departments to redeploy because they will let go of those people from JKIA.”

The Adani Group Deal

The plan for airport takeover involves leasing the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to the Adani Group for 30 years in exchange for $1.85 billion of investment by Adani into the airport’s expansion.

However, the deal shrouded in secrecy sparked anger among Kenyans and triggered a strike last week by the country’s aviation workers. Earlier, Gen Z protesters had dared to storm and takeover the airport following the reports of the takeover.

The Adani Group operates seven airports in India and has often faced criticism from Indian opposition parties for winning favours from ruling governments. Indian officials and the Adani Group have denied such accusations.

Kenya is struggling with a high debt load accumulated from years of splurging on infrastructure.

A proposal by the government to hike taxes to generate extra money needed for debt repayments sparked deadly protests recently and forced the government to rescind the proposal.

The plan involves leasing the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to the Adani Group for 30 years in exchange for billions of shillings of investment by Adani into the airport’s expansion.

According to senators, the controversial takeover of the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport by Indian tycoon Adani is a done deal, according to the Senate.

This emerged when senators disapproved of the 30-year proposed takeover of JKIA airport operations by the Adani Group of India.

Several organizations have filed suits against this deal.