A fresh war of words has erupted online after prominent Kenyan X personality Polo Kimani sharply criticised comedian and filmmaker Abel Mutua over his comments on Kenyans who opposed the controversial Adani Group proposal for the management and expansion of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).
Kimani accused Mutua of dismissing legitimate public concerns and warned against normalising authoritarianism or undermining constitutional safeguards in the name of development.
The outspoken commentator took issue with Mutua’s recent remarks on the Adani deal, in which the filmmaker questioned the reasons Kenyans rejected the proposed arrangement and suggested that political interests may have influenced public opinion.
Kimani responded with a lengthy post in which he challenged Mutua to reconsider his position, while drawing attention to the importance of constitutionalism and accountability.
“Please Abel Mutua, spare us the Bullshit. Kama pesa ya digital creatives kutoka kwa Itumbi imewafikia, please eat it without involving us in your nonsense,” Polo wrote.
Kimani then questioned why Kenyans should be made to believe that the country lacks alternative leaders or that they should tolerate questionable governance arrangements.
“Why are you speaking like we’re out of good leaders? Have you seen what is happening in Tanzania? That is what dictatorship looks like, thats what happens when constitution is ignored. The constitution is not your Enemy! It is there to protect you!” He added.
Kimani warns against embracing dictatorship
The social media personality argued that citizens often underestimate the consequences of authoritarian governance because they imagine abuses of power will affect somebody else.
He used a hypothetical example involving police corruption to illustrate his argument.
“People pretend to envy dictatorship,but they never imagine it is thems who would be in the other end of the sword. The moment it is your brother getting killed by corrupt policemen for refusing to bribe them after they falsely charged him with Selling cannabis,hapo ndio utajua mkuki kwa nguruwe mtamu lakini kwa binadamu uchungu.”
Kimani’s remarks come amid renewed public discussion surrounding the controversial JKIA proposal, which attracted significant scrutiny in 2024 before being halted by the courts.
The proposed arrangement involved Adani Group investing billions of shillings in the expansion and modernisation of JKIA while operating the facility under a long-term concession.
According to documents reported at the time, Adani Airport Holdings proposed investing about $1.85 billion in the airport, including the construction of a new passenger terminal, improvements to existing facilities and the development of a second runway. The proposed concession was structured to run for 30 years.
The controversial 18% return
One of the most contentious elements of the proposal was the financial arrangement.
Adani’s proposal targeted an 18% internal rate of return on its equity investment.
Reports also indicated that the company would have continued to hold an 18% equity interest in the airport’s aeronautical business after the concession period under the proposal.
Kimani referred directly to that arrangement while arguing that Kenyans had legitimate reasons to question the proposal.
“Na Shida ya uyu jamaa ni kudhani kila mtu ni wale brukenge hununua ticket waende stadium wakapigiwe story,as if documentaries dont already exist,thats why you hear him saying unverifed nonsense like the US influenced us to reject Adani.”
He added:
“And in real sense what that contract was proposing was nothing but absoulute madness. Selling our airport for 30 years and retaining 18% equity stake thereafter is theft. We could see it,we had the brains.”
The proposal, however, was officially structured as a build-operate-transfer arrangement rather than an outright sale of JKIA.
Under the model, the private investor would finance and undertake development, operate the facility for the concession period and eventually transfer it back under agreed terms.
Why the Adani deal became controversial
The proposed transaction generated fierce debate among politicians, lawyers, aviation workers, activists and members of the public.
The Kenya Human Rights Commission and the Law Society of Kenya challenged the proposed 30-year concession in court, arguing that the arrangement lacked sufficient transparency and raised questions about value for money, public resources and the long-term interests of Kenyans.
The controversy also extended to JKIA workers. Aviation unions raised concerns about potential job losses and the possibility of increased reliance on foreign labour if the arrangement proceeded.
A strike at JKIA in September 2024 disrupted flights as workers protested the proposed concession.
The High Court subsequently temporarily halted the proposed takeover, allowing legal proceedings challenging the arrangement to proceed.
The deal was therefore never simply a question of whether Kenya needed a modern airport.
The debate centred on how the expansion would be financed, who would control the facility, how much the private investor would earn and whether the proposed terms adequately protected public interests.
Kimani tells Abel Mutua to ‘use his brains’
Kimani concluded his post by insisting that his criticism should not be interpreted as a campaign to silence or cancel Mutua.
Instead, he said the filmmaker should be more cautious when commenting on complex issues involving public policy, economics and governance.
“This is not a call to cancel abel Mutua,this is call to tell him to try and use his brains. Or just shut up on things he doesnt understand.”
He then invoked the biblical Book of Proverbs to drive home his point.
“The book of proverbs says that even a fool is considered intelligent if he keeps his mouth shut.”
Kimani ended his fiery message with:
“Kasia sana mkurugenzi!”
The exchange has added a new dimension to the continuing debate over the Adani proposal, with Kenyans now divided not only over the merits of the airport deal but also over whether public figures should criticise citizens for opposing controversial government policies.
At the heart of the disagreement remains a broader question: should Kenyans embrace private investment in strategic national infrastructure at almost any cost, or should every such arrangement face intense public scrutiny to ensure that the country’s long-term interests are protected?
For Kimani, questioning the deal was not a rejection of development.
It was an exercise of constitutional rights and public accountability.
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