Kenya has cancelled all contracts awarded to Adani Group citing intelligence provided by friendly nations that implicates the company mega-dollar in India and abroad.

The Adani Group, which by Thursday was fighting a slew of cases in Kenyan courts, had been awarded tenders for the expansion of the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, provision of health insurance and power generation.

In an hour-long address to parliament, President William Ruto said the decision was informed by the intelligence by friendly governments and protests at home over the transparency  in the deals that involved his ministers for energy, finance, transport, public service and the law office.

However, Members of Parliament, explained the decision to quash the deals was done in anticipation of a backlash from the United States if Nairobi pushed ahead with the contracts.

Instructively, the decision was made barely 24 hours after Indian billionaire Gautam Adani was indicted in New York City, USA, for fraud.

Effectively, the announcement reversed Kenya’s Energy Minister Opiyo Wandayi statement earlier on Thursday cleared Adani Group of bribery or corruption allegations in the award of the contract to a unit of India’s Adani Group to build power lines in the East African nation.

Adani Energy Solutions in October signed a 30-year, $736 million public-private partnership deal with the Kenya Electrical Transmission Company. A court suspended the contract in the same month after questions were raised about the transparency of the controversial deal.

Mr Wandayi said the deal was above board.

“There has been no case of corruption or bribery as far as PIP (privately-initiated proposal) with Adani Energy Solutions is concerned,” he told Kenya’s Senate committee on finance.

Early on Thursday, the CEO of Adani Group, Gautam Adani, was indicted by US prosecutors for his alleged role in a $265 million scheme to bribe Indian officials. Wandayi said Kenya’s Public-Private Partnership Act required a review and verification of documents provided by Adani Energy Solutions showing its compliance with laws and taxes in its country of origin, India.

“We had no knowledge of any other adverse matters … and therefore we are proceeding on the basis of the outcome of the very rigorous due diligence exercise that was undertaken by the contracting authority in line with the law.”

Wandayi said the deal would contribute to affordable electricity supply, and Kenya did not have the money to fund new power transmission projects.

• A Tell report