Court overrules KAA board in Sh55bn airport tender row

• Industrial Court judge Byram Ongoya ordered the Kenya Airports Authority Board to immediately reinstate managing director Stephen Gichuki until the dispute is resolved.
• The board had on Friday last week sent Mr Gichuki on compulsory leave to facilitate investigations into how the tender for constructing the terminal was offered to Anhui Construction Engineering Group of China and later ordered cancelled by Transport minister Amos Kimunya.
• Justice Ongoya certified Mr Gichuki’s application for reinstatement as urgent and said he could continue discharging his duties.
• The terminal will be dedicated to the use by Kenya Airways and its Star Alliance Partners although the national carrier has expressed concerns over its design.
• Kenya Airways managing director Titus Naikuni told the Business Daily that delays in putting up the project could see the airline scale down its expansion plans.

The controversy surrounding the Sh55 billion Greenfield Terminal at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport took a new turn on Monday after a Nairobi court revoked the suspension of the Kenya Airports Authority’s chief executive.

Industrial Court judge Byram Ongoya ordered the Kenya Airports Authority Board to immediately reinstate managing director Stephen Gichuki until the dispute is resolved.

Mr Justice Ongoya directed that the board chaired by former Runyenjes MP Martin Nyaga Wambora appear before him on Friday for an inter-parties hearing.

The board had on Friday last week sent Mr Gichuki on compulsory leave to facilitate investigations into how the tender for constructing the terminal was offered to Anhui Construction Engineering Group of China and later cancelled by Transport minister Amos Kimunya.

READ: KAA boss on the spot over airport tender cash

The court order is the latest episode in the falling out between the KAA management on the one hand and the board and Mr Kimunya on the other.

It came on the same day that the Public Procurement Oversight Authority cancelled a press conference where it was expected to rule on an appeal filed by the Chinese company over the proposed cancellation of the tender. The press conference was postponed to Wednesday.

Tuesday, Justice Ongoya certified Mr Gichuki’s application for reinstatement as urgent and said he could continue discharging his duties.

Last week, Mr Wambora said that Mr Gichuki was sent on compulsory leave to allow investigations on the tender for the construction of the second runaway at the JKIA.

The terminal will be dedicated to the use by Kenya Airways and its Star Alliance Partners although the national carrier has expressed concerns over its design.

In sending Mr Gichuki on leave, Mr Wambora said notification of the award was done without the the board’s approval. The board appointed Mr Mathew Wamalwa to Mr Gichuki’s position in an acting capacity.

Mr Wambora said that although the project was approved in principal by the board at a projected cost of $500 million (Sh42 billion), the contract sum of the winning bidder was $654 million (Sh54.9 billion).

Transport minister Amos Kimunya stopped the multi-billion shilling project, saying he suspected corrupt dealings in awarding the tender to Anhui Company.

His directive was supported by the board. Mr Gichuki, however, sought legal opinion on the repercussions of the cancellation and was advised by the Attorney General Githu Muigai not to cancel the tender.

Two weeks ago, Mr Kimunya told Parlimaent that the speed at which the tender was being processed was suspect.