Kenya: Call to end any form of harassment against the human rights defender and whistle blower Nelson Amenya

Paris-Geneva, 18 July 2025 – Mr Nelson Amenya is a Kenyan entrepreneur, economist, and whistleblower, currently based in France, where he is pursuing a Master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA). In 2024, he gained international recognition after exposing, via social media, serious irregularities in a $2 billion deal between the Kenyan government and the Indian multinational Adani Group. The agreement concerned a 30-year lease for the modernisation and management of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in Nairobi. Nelson Amenya claimed that ‘‘government officials intended to bypass legal requirements, including public consultation, which are meant to safeguard taxpayers’ money and had no plans to consult stakeholders’’. He further affirmed that the agreement included a gradual increase in airport fees and massive tax exemptions in favour of the Adani Group, which “jeopardised national interest and threatened Kenya’s economy”. Additionally, Nelson Amenya publicly asserted on social media, alleged links between Mr Jayesh Saini - a Kenyan entrepreneur from Indian origin, healthcare tycoon, founder and CEO of Bliss Healthcare - and the disputed deal involving the Adani Group.

Since Nelson Amenya’s disclosure of the controversial procurement process that would have transferred control of Nairobi’s main airport to India’s Adani Group in July 2024, he has been subjected to ongoing judicial reprisals, intimidation and online harassment. Mr Amenya has been subjected to a campaign of defamation on the internet. Initially, Indian bloggers accused him of working for France, China, or Russia. Soon after, individuals began scouring his LinkedIn and Instagram profiles, retrieving photos he had shared with school friends. One such image, taken during a school trip to Stuttgart and showing him alongside a Chinese classmate, was circulated online, with claims that it depicted him meeting with Chinese contacts. The campaign escalated when a Kenyan blogger alleged he was being funded by the opposition party. These photos were then used as supposed evidence to support the ongoing defamation against him. In 2025, later this year, high-level officials requested him to stop being critical of the regime and start “supporting them”.

On 11 September 2024, Jayesh Saini initiated legal proceedings against Nelson Amenya before the Nairobi Magistrate Court at Milimani, Nairobi, seeking the removal of social media posts alleging his links to the Adani Group deal, which he deemed defamatory, as well as an injunction against any further publications that could be related to him. The court, however, rejected the application, stating that the issues raised by Nelson Amenya were matters of legitimate public interest and warranted full adjudication in a trial.

On 12 September 2024, Jayesh Saini contacted Nelson Amenya’s former employer in the United Kingdom, threatening legal reprisals unless Nelson Amenya stopped posting on social media.

Considering that Nelson Amenya had relocated to France to pursue his MBA and established his domicile there, Jayesh Saini filed a civil lawsuit for public defamation against him before the Versailles Judicial Court in France[1] on 28 October 2024, seeking the removal of tweets published between 5 September and 13 October 2024. In an urgent interim order dated 14 January 2025, the Versailles Judicial Court dismissed Jayesh Saini’s claims, ruling that the social media posts concerned matters of public debate and legitimate interest, and were protected by the right to freedom of expression in conformity with the European Convention on Human Rights. However, on 2 December 2024, Jayesh Saini escalated his legal action by filing a criminal complaint for public defamation with the investigating judge of the Versailles judicial court.

On 21 November 2024, after several days of strike action at the airport by staff contesting the deal, Kenyan President William Ruto instructed the cancellation of a planned procurement procedure that would have granted operational control of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to the Adani Group. This decision came after chairman Gautam Adani was indicted on allegations of bribery to secure power supply contracts, and of misleading U.S. investors.

Furthermore, as of late October 2024, officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) in Kenya, went to Nelson Amenya’s parents claiming they were searching for a stolen vehicle on the property. However, these visits are believed to have been linked to surveillance efforts targeting Nelson Amenya due to his whistle-blowing report concerning the JKIA-Adani deal.

In France and Kenya, Nelson Amenya continues to face intimidation, online harassment and judicial reprisals, underscoring the risks of transnational repression faced by whistle-blowers and the urgent need for stronger legal protections.

Strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) are increasingly used to intimidate whistleblowers, journalists, and civil society actors. In the African context, Southern African human rights defenders, particularly environmental defenders, are especially vulnerable to SLAPPs and other forms of legal intimidation aimed at silencing them. This targeting is emblematic of a broader pattern in Kenya, where whistle-blowers often endure harassment, legal threats, and online harassment for exposing corruption and advocating for transparency. According to a 2021 review by Transparency International Kenya on the state of whistle-blower protection and defamation law, the country lackscomprehensive legislation on whistle-blowing protection. Moreover, the newly proposed Whistle-blower Protection Bill 2024 has yet to be enacted into law.

The Observatory calls on the relevant Kenyan authorities to take all necessary measures to protect the physical and psychological integrity of Mr Nelson Amenya and his family, and to promptly, thoroughly, independently, and impartially investigate all threats, acts of intimidation, and online harassment directed against him. Furthermore, the Observatory urges Kenyan authorities to ensure that Nelson Amenya is able to exercise his right to freedom of expression without fear of judicial reprisals, as per Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and that any legal proceedings against him fully respect international fair trial standards. Finally, the Observatory affirms the legitimate role of whistle-blowers as human rights defenders in exposing corruption and advancing transparency and accountability.

[1] Under French law, the general rule for establishing territorial jurisdiction in civil cases is that the competent court is the one at the defendant’s domicile, based on the principle of ‘‘actor sequitur forum rei’’. Furthermore, where defamatory statements are published online and can be accessed by French Internet users, and where there is a territorial connection to France, French law and case law (Court of Cassation, Criminal Chamber, 12 July 2016, No 15-86.645) confirms that any court in whose jurisdiction the content was read or downloaded is automatically considered competent.