The Kenya Kwanza Coalition has accused President Uhuru Kenyatta of planning to illegally auction Mombasa, Lamu and Kisumu ports.
The team, speaking at a briefing in Karen, Nairobi, today led by Musalia Mudavadi and Bungoma Senator Moses Wetangula claimed that Kenyatta had signed a secret deal under the guise of an economic cooperation agreement with the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The DP-Ruto-led coalition says the agreement will see the privately-owned Dubai Port World PZE take over the operations of the three ports.
“Why would a government with only less than six weeks to leave office hurriedly and secretly auction the operations, development, redevelopment and management of all our ports to a foreign entity?” they posed.
The coalition challenged the government to tell Kenyans why the assets are being handed over to a foreign entity.
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They claim that the deal to hand over the three ports was signed by Treasury CS Ukur Yattani on March 1, 2022. The deal, they say, will not only hand over the ports but also the supporting infrastructure plus the ports in the hinterland.
According to Kenya Kwanza, the deal was allegedly struck at Azimio la Umoja’s presidential candidate’s birthday party attended by President Uhuru and other leaders. They say after the party, Raila and Mombasa governor Ali Hassan Joho travelled to Dubai to ink the deal.
The leaders now want the details of the deal made public, stating what parameters were used to initiate the project proposals, whether the tender was competitive and details of the negotiations.
They say by inking the deal, Uhuru’s government “glossed over key legal issues like public participation, violation of Article 227 and Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act 2015.”
