Kenya airport in chaos, staff protests against lease to Adani

Kenya's main international airport in Nairobi was plunged into chaos overnight as its staff went on strike at midnight Wednesday to protest a planned takeover, reports Reuters. Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) came to a complete standstill, AFP reported, adding that the management was drafting a statement. Kenya's Aviation Workers Union confirmed that they went on strike starting midnight, in a post on social media website X. Staff at the airport are protesting a plan to lease the airport to India's Adani Group for 30 years in exchange for $1.8 billion in investment.

Adani, the second richest man in India, enjoys close ties with the ruling party including Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The union representing airport workers said that in three previous letters, it had demanded "the immediate resignation of the entire Board of Directors for their show of incompetence in presiding over the unlawful intended sale of JKIA to Adani Airport Holdings of India while they should have exercised prudence and accountability as the custodians of this national strategic asset on behalf of Kenyans."

The union said that the Adani Group intended to lay off the majority of employees and bring in workers from outside Kenya to work on the project. Moreover, the few Kenyans who will be retained will likely be forced to accept "inferior terms and conditions of service that suits the Indian firm," it said.