Kenyan business student, Nelson Amenya, has been hailed as a champion of those campaigning for transparency in the deals his government makes with private companies.
Kenya’s recent history is littered with stories of huge contracts being caused by corruption – and despite laws supposed to prevent this from happening, there are allegations that it continues to happen.
Thirty-year-old Mr Amenya, who is studying in France for an MBA, leaked information on social media about what he said was a proposed deal between Kenya and the Adani Group, an Indian multinational company, in July.
It is about the management of the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) – the largest airport in the country – and the region -, which has been undergoing renovation for a long time.
“The first feeling I had [when I was passed the documents] that it was another government deal… I didn’t understand its magnitude or its seriousness,” Mr Amenya, whose name has been rising as an anti-corruption activist, told the BBC.
The documents detail Adani Group’s $2bn (£1.6bn) offer to lease JKIA for 30 years to modernize and operate it.
When he first read the papers, he felt that if it continued, it would “hurt the Kenyan economy” while all the benefit would go to Indian multinationals.
This agreement seemed unfair to him according to him as Kenya will still contribute a large part of the money but not reap the money.
Mr. Amenya had good reason to think that these documents are true as “the people who gave me these documents were from official government departments,” he said.
The Adani Group is involved in infrastructure, mining and energy projects around the world, in countries such as Israel, UAE, France, Tanzania, Australia and Greece. Its founder Gautam Adani is a major player in the Indian economy and a close friend of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Further reading, Mr Amenya says he discovered that Adani’s deal with Kenya could have left his country liable to pay the company if it did not recoup its investment.
“This was a huge breach of trust of the people in the leadership of the president, the Kenya Airports Authority, the minister – they all betrayed the people,” he said.
Despite the evidence in his hands, Mr. Amenya is conflicted about what to do next. His safety was at risk, although he was better off in France than in Kenya, where anti-corruption activists have been targeted and some killed.
“I was scared. I didn’t know what was going to happen. I’m risking my job, I’m risking my life, why should I risk doing this?” he wondered at the time.
However, he eventually felt that silence was not an option.
“You know, only cowards live long.”
After spending weeks doing what he was commissioned to do, Mr Amenya leaked documents from his X page in July, sparking outrage in Kenya.
JKIA airport workers have gone on strike demanding the cancellation of the agreement.
JKIA airport workers went on strike after Nelson Amenya released details of alleged contract [Getty Images]
“It seemed like a duty to me, I am doing it for my country. Even though I am far away, I still have a duty for my country. I want to see a better Kenya, my country is developing, industrialized and the end of corruption.”
He worried that the airport deal was a harbinger of what was to come.
Mr. Amenya says that it was not only the unusual policies and the lack of transparency that set off alarm bells, he also says that Kenyan laws seemed to be ignored.
“[The authorities] they never did their due diligence on this company… they didn’t follow a proper procurement plan.”
He suspects that some government officials are hoping to ignore the principles of the law, including consultation with the public, which must be avoided so that taxpayers’ money is not used properly.
An April report by the Kenya Airports Authority on the proposed agreement revealed that there was no consultation process with stakeholders in the process.
“This was in April, and in July when I disclosed this, they did not share with the public. This agreement was very secret, and at that time there was one month left for them to sign the agreement,” said Mr. Amenya.
“After I disclosed the deal, they immediately tried to come and pretend that the public was involved – they called Kenya Airports Authority staff and started holding stakeholder meetings.”
Various officials and government agencies denied allegations of corruption in the project and authorities went ahead to sign another multi-million dollar deal with the Adani Group – this time to build power lines.
The Adani Group said what Mr Amenya said was baseless and hateful.
A spokesperson told the BBC that “the proposal was submitted under the Kenyan Public Private Partnership rules and was intended to build a world-class airport and significantly boost the Kenyan economy by creating a number of new jobs”.
The Adani Group further stated that no contract has been signed as “negotiations have not progressed to a binding agreement”.
The company also says that the energy deal proposal was above board and that the company “absolutely denies all allegations and allegations of any violation of Kenyan laws in our operations or proposals.
“Every project we undertake is governed by a strong commitment to compliance, transparency and the laws of the countries in which we operate,” the statement read.
But it was not Mr Amenya’s leak that changed the government’s mind.
It wasn’t until US authorities charged Gautam Adani with alleged involvement in a $250m (£200m) bribery scheme that Kenya did.
Representatives of the Adani Group denied the allegations of the US prosecutors and called them “baseless”.
In a state of the nation address to parliament last month, Kenyan President William Ruto announced the cancellation of both Adani contracts.
“Due to unquestionable evidence or concrete information about corruption, I will not hesitate to take drastic measures,” said Ruto in his speech which was met with great cheers in parliament.
Kenyans celebrated Ruto’s decision with new information provided by investigative agencies and partner nations.
“I was in class when the announcement came. I couldn’t believe it,” said Mr Amenya.
“I think in the first hour, I was in tears. I was so happy.”
Although he does not see himself as a hero, messages of support have been pouring in from all over, including India.
Forty minutes after the class ended, he sent his now famous tweet “Adios Adani!!” – Goodbye Adani.
“It was important… Everything I did finally paid off.”
However, the feeling of victory came after months of personal struggle and stress.
Shortly after disclosing the airline deal, Mr Amenya was accused of defaming Adani Group’s representative and a Kenyan politician, making him question whether he should continue.
“Some people came to me from the government, they were ready to pay me, they told me: ‘You have to withdraw money and stop this war with the government,'” he remembers.
“It would be the biggest mistake of my life to quit, to betray the people of Kenya.”
But even after the withdrawal of the agreements, President Ruto is still wondering why Kenyans are against this and many other projects he has championed. He says he will find a way to improve the airport.
“I saw them saying that those who stop the construction of our airport are heroes. Heroes? What do you gain if you stop the construction of an airport in your country?” Ruto asked at a public event in early December.
“You don’t know how it will be built, and those who oppose it have never even set foot inside the airport, you want to oppose it.”
Mr. Amenya, who is still facing defamation charges, is collecting money to help with his legal expenses, and says his future in Kenya is unknown.
“I received threats from reliable intelligence agencies and Kenyans who warned me not to go back because there are obviously people who are very angry with what I have done,” he said.
It’s a big price, but Mr Amenya says he’ll happily pay again.
“We don’t really need to wait for someone to save us,” he said.
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