At 9:07 a.m. on Sunday, September 26, President William Ruto’s economic advisor David Ndi revealed that India is behind the controversial planned takeover of major companies by Abu Dhabi’s International Holdings Company (IHC). He posted an article on his X handle announcing a cash injection into conglomerate Adani Group. National assets including JKIA.
Dr Ndi commented on his post after it was revealed that his wife Mwende Gatabaki was a shareholder in one of the companies that won the contract to implement a universal healthcare IT system at a cost of 104 billion. , made no further comment.
But the post puts the controversial emirate at the center of a 485 billion lice deal being pursued by India’s Adani Group in various sectors of Kenya’s economy under President Ruto’s government.
Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan, also known as ‘Sheikh Spy’, is the son of UAE founder Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, IHC’s majority shareholder and chairman.
Tahnoun’s younger brother, Khaled bin Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, is the crown prince of the United Arab Emirates. More specifically, his brother is the ruler of the UAE.
Tahnoun is the deputy ruler of the UAE’s capital, Abu Dhabi, and his brother’s national security adviser.
The latter role earned Mr. Tahnoun the nickname Spy-Sheikh, as he has spent years ruthlessly cracking down on alternative voices within and outside the UAE, and waging cyberwar against anyone who dared oppose his brother’s government. .
But to Kenyans, Mr. Tahnoun is now one of the silent architects of three controversial agreements that, if signed and implemented, will affect the next 30 years in the health, transport, and energy sectors. It has the potential to impact the lives of more than 50 million people each year.
The government has been secretly negotiating contracts worth Sh485 billion with foreign companies for months. IHC is a public limited company registered in the UAE.
Mr. Tahnoun owns 61.1 percent of IHC through his PAL group of companies. He serves as Chairman of the IHC Board of Directors.
IHC is a common denominator in all three deals with Kenya Airports Authority, Department of Social and Health Services and Kenya Electricity Transmission Company, which were controversial due to the confidential nature of the negotiations and the involvement of some of the major shareholders in past financial scandals. .
The UAE royal family stands to get a cut of the billions of dollars expected from three controversial deals thanks to its close ties to the Adani Group.
In 2021, Kenya was one of the countries that introduced a partial economic shutdown to combat the coronavirus.
Dinrath Pharma, a local company backed by health entrepreneur Jaish Saini, has received approval to administer Russia’s controversial coronavirus vaccine Sputnik V.
A few weeks later, Russia’s Moscow Times revealed that the Emirati royal family had signed a deal to distribute the vaccine around the world.
According to the magazine’s investigation, the badge brought by Saini had been delivered from the UAE.
The Russian government has denied supplying the product to Kenya, raising questions about where Saini’s Dinrath Pharma got its vaccines from.
Kenya subsequently revoked the approval it had given to Dinrath Pharma to import the vaccine.
Three years later, the Emirates is embroiled in a controversial deal linked to Mr. Saini.
Last week, Safaricom, as part of a consortium with Apeiro Limited and Convergenz Network Solutions, awarded a contract worth 104.8 billion yen to develop an integrated healthcare technology system for the government’s planned universal healthcare coverage. announced that it had been acquired.
Rufus Marundu Maina, director of Saini-related companies, holds similar positions in two companies set up by Apeiro in the 104.8 billion lice deal.
Mr. Maina is a director of Apeiro Kenya Technologies Ltd and SIH Africa Ltd.
Ms Gatabaki is an IT expert and the wife of Dr Ndi, one of President Ruto’s trusted economic advisors.
SIH Africa owns all 1,000 shares of Apeiro Kenya Technologies Ltd.
Both companies are subsidiaries of Abu Dhabi-based investment company Sirius International Holding. Sirius is a subsidiary of IHC, both of which were incorporated on July 5, 2024.
The directors of Apeiro Kenya Technologies Ltd, who hold no shares, are Mr Maina, Inder Deep Singh Virdi, Judy Mwende Gatabaki and Aswanth Bindhu Lambodaran.
President William Ruto shakes hands with UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Photo credits: PCS
At SIH, Mr. Rambodran and Mr. Nishant Mishra each hold 500 shares in trust. Mr. Maina is a director of the company, but does not hold any shares.
Lawmakers have already advised Attorney General Dorcas Oduor not to approve the 104.8 billion lice transaction. A parliamentary ministry committee criticized the agreement on Wednesday, revealing that IHITS had failed during tests earlier this week.
“They tested the system in Marsabit and Tharaka Niti districts and it failed. It is unclear why the Ministry of Health is so insistent on replacing the working system,” Endebes MP Robert Pukose wondered. I threw it.
IHC also owns a 5 percent stake in Adani Enterprises, the entity behind the $2 billion (Sh257 billion) leasing plan for Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
In July, Kisii Senator Richard Onyonka blew the whistle on Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) plans to lease the airport (JKIA) to Adani Group for 30 years.
The Indian conglomerate, through another subsidiary, Adani Airports Holdings, sent a proposal for the privately-led project to KAA. This subsidiary is owned by Adani Enterprises Ltd.
IHC owns over 5% of Adani Enterprises Ltd after entering into a further share purchase agreement in September 2023.
In 2022, IHC invested $2 billion (Shs257 billion) in three companies under the Adani Group, founded by Indian billionaire Gautam Adani.
With this investment, IHC acquired a favorable minority stake in Adani Enterprises Ltd, Adani Green Energy and Adani Energy Solutions.
A year later, IHC sold its stake in Adani Green Energy and Adani Energy Solutions. However, the Abu Dhabi company increased its stake in Adani Enterprises and now owns more than 5 percent of the company.
IHC said in a statement that the investment in Adani Enterprises Ltd will enable it to expand its operations at airports and other facilities it leases.
Prolonged public outcry necessitates a parliamentary inquiry, and Adani Group submits a privately-led project proposal to KAA that will see $2 billion (Shs257 billion) worth of renovations and expansions carried out during the concession period. It became clear that he had promised.
If the deal goes through, Adani will recoup its investment and profits over 30 years. KAA has not yet disclosed exactly how much revenue Kenya will receive under the proposal.
As details of the JKIA lease plan gradually emerge, it has emerged that Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (KETRACO) is also in talks with another Adani company and is considering a deal worth Sh95 billion.
Through Adani Energy Solutions, the conglomerate had proposed to build transmission lines and substations for 95 billion rupees. Over the 30-year concession period, the company will recover Sh635 billion, more than six times the investment amount.
IHC also intends to pursue minerals in Kenya as part of a $1 billion (Sh129 billion) investment in mineral projects across Africa, the Financial Times reported in May.

President William Ruto with UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudabadi.
Photo credits: PCS
In April, President Ruto met with UAE Minister of Investment Mohamed Al-Suwaidi at Parliament House. The two leaders discussed a financing and investment framework for both countries to explore programs and investment opportunities worth $500 million (64.5 billion shillings).
The UHC agreement is controversial because it involved individuals with close ties to President Ruto, either directly or through his family. Adil Khawaja, a longtime friend of Ruto and a managing partner at Dentons, Hamilton, Harrison & Matthews, represented Convergents in the transaction.
In May, after a historic state visit to the United States, President Ruto came under intense pressure over his frequent foreign trips, which siphon off billions of dollars of taxpayer money each year.
But to reassure the nation, the president said at a televised National Prayer Breakfast in Nairobi that not all of his trips are funded by taxpayers, and that some, particularly his visit to the United States, will be funded by the president. It was revealed that it was provided by a “friend”.
In fact, the US visit was funded by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) government and cost taxpayers less than Sh10 million, the State House later clarified in a statement.
Kenya and the UAE have forged closer business ties since President Ruto took office two years ago.
For example, two UAE state-owned companies, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and Emirates National Oil Company Group (ENOC), supply fuel to Kenya under a controversial intergovernmental agreement.