Man sues KAA over corruption claims, irregular award of contracts at JKIA

A petition has been filed before the High Court exposing a fierce tender battle at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) over lucrative services for welcoming and assisting VIP guests, including foreign dignitaries, diplomats, and senior military officials.

The case, filed by Fredrick Mulaa, accuses the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) and its leadership, including acting Managing Director Dr Mohammed Gedi, of violating procurement and integrity laws by allegedly handpicking companies to offer high-end guest assistance services, despite previous court orders nullifying similar tenders.

The petitioner further claims that awarding contracts to disqualified firms flouted procurement laws and compromised operational standards at the airport.  

“Unless this Court intervenes and halts the corrupt and illegal acts of the Respondents, the continuing acts of corruption will make a mockery of Articles 10, 73, Chapter Six of the Constitution and the Leadership and Integrity Act,” reads part of the petition.

According to the court papers, the dispute centers on who controls the prestigious “meet and assist” service, a protocol operation that caters to arriving and departing VIPs, foreign dignitaries, diplomats, and senior military officials at JKIA.

These services, originally conceptualised by Willis Protocol Concierge Services Limited, were meant to be formally tendered by KAA to professionalise the service like in other international airports.

However, the petitioner claims that KAA’s subsequent handling of the process has been marred by favoritism and disregard of due process.

Records before the court show, KAA first publicly advertised for service providers in 2021, through tender KAA/OT/JKIA/MBD/0042020-2021, eventually selecting Umbato Safaris Limited as one of the concessionaires.

But the High Court, in Nairobi Judicial Review No. E006 of 2021, nullified the entire process on March 18, 2021, citing irregularities in the award.

“The entire tender was nullified by the High Court. Despite that, the 1st Respondent(KAA) went ahead and entered into contracts with the 4th Respondent (Umbato Safaris Limited) to offer the meet and assist service at JKIA,” Mulaa’s affidavit states.

Following the disqualification of the tender by the High Court, in 2024, KAA issued another call for tenders, KAA/RT/MBD/0207/2023-2024, where Tradewinds Aviation Services Ltd participated.

However, the petition reveals that April 18, 2024, KAA disqualified the bidder at the technical evaluation stage.

"This decision was confirmed by the Public Procurement Administrative Review Board and the High Court,” Mulaa states

Despite these disqualification rulings, the petitioner says that KAA proceeded to enter into ongoing contracts with both Umbato Safaris and Tradewinds Aviation Services, effectively reinstating firms deemed unqualified to provide the services

“Entering into the meet and assist contract with the 3rd and 4th respondents when the tender in the case of the 4th respondent had been nullified by the High Court, while in the case of the 3rd respondent it had been unsuccessful in its bid, constitutes a violation of the Constitution,” the petition reads.

Mulaa further accuses KAA and Dr Gedi of deliberately disregarding procurement regulations and transparency principles, even after formal notice was issued to the authority, the companies involved, and the EACC.

" KAA and Dr. Gedi have violating Articles 10 and 73 of the Constitution, which emphasize integrity, transparency, and accountability in public service," he says.

“Being a public body, KAA is bound to select concessionaires to offer the meet and assist service through the public procurement process in a manner that gives credence to Article 10 of the Constitution specifically the principles of transparency and accountability,” Mulaa affidavit states.

A letter dated October 16, 2025, from S & S Advocates LLP, representing the petitioner, and addressed to KAA’s Managing Director and copied to the EACC, alleges that the parastatal’s actions were illegal and contrary to express court orders.

“It is therefore very clear that KAA not only entered into contracts with M/S Umbato Safaris and Tradewinds Aviation Services Ltd contrary to clear court orders which have never been reviewed or appealed, but the same is also illegal based on the fact that KAA is a parastatal and a public body which utilises public funds,” the letter states.

Mulaa argues that these irregularities have undermined protocol and security standards at JKIA, creating loopholes for illicit activities, including narcotics trafficking.

The petition coincides with recent security concerns at JKIA.

Between October 5 and 7, 2025, the Multi-Agency Transnational Organized Crime Unit (TOCU) arrested four individuals linked to a cocaine trafficking syndicate operating through the airport.

The key suspects, including Rishad Abdulrahim Sheikh, the alleged syndicate head, and Muamar Mutua Mohammed, the logistics coordinator, were said to be responsible for coordinating drug movement through JKIA.

The arrests come just days after a media exposé revealed glaring security lapses at JKIA, showing how narcotics were trafficked under the watch of surveillance cameras and airport personnel.

The exposé raised serious questions about internal complicity and operational oversight of JKIA, one of East Africa’s busiest airports.

Investigators recovered two packages suspected to contain narcotics and seven mobile phones, now under forensic analysis.

The syndicate is reportedly connected to Jesse Da Mata Dos Santos, a British national recently detained in London with 20 kilograms of cocaine.

In his petition, Mulaa seeks multiple remedies including declarations that KAA and its officials breached constitutional principles of good governance, integrity, and transparency.

It also requests an order of certiorari to quash the ongoing meet-and-assist contracts between KAA, Umbato Safaris, and Tradewinds Aviation Services.