President William Ruto is facing criticism following allegations that the government spent hundreds of millions of shillings on legal fees related to petitions challenging the suspended Adani Group airport deals.
The claims were highlighted by whistleblower Nelson Amenya, who specifically pointed to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).
Amenya alleged that JKIA paid around KSh245 million for legal services connected to the Adani petitions.
“You mean JKIA is paying a quarter of a billion shillings for legal services on the Adani petitions? 245 millions! This is thuggery,” he wrote on X.
Former Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) chairman Mohamed Hersi responded by questioning why the government would rely heavily on external lawyers when the Attorney General’s Office already employs a team of qualified legal professionals.
He argued that it would be more cost-effective to expand in-house capacity rather than spend enormous sums on outside counsel.
“Even small private firms have lawyers on retainer and pay far less than what we see in these cases,” Hersi noted.
He added that similar patterns of high legal expenditure exist across counties, with Nairobi County alone spending billions in legal fees.
“We aspire to become like Singapore while walking in the shoes of Bujumbura or Kinshasa,” he said, warning of a disconnect between ambition and practice.
The alleged spending comes amid growing scrutiny of the Adani airport deal.