KENYA: A Kenyan court has ordered parties to maintain the status quo on land earmarked for Aliko Dangote’s proposed 700,000-barrel-per-day refinery in Lamu, creating a fresh legal hurdle for the multibillion-dollar project hours before its scheduled groundbreaking ceremony.
The Malindi Environment and Land Court issued the interim order over a disputed parcel identified as LR No. 13061 in the Hindi/Manda Magogoni area of Lamu County, following a suit by 133 residents of Chandavai who claim ancestral rights to the land.
However, the court did not expressly stop the groundbreaking ceremony scheduled for Wednesday, September 30.
Reuters reports that Dangote Group said the ceremony would go ahead, although activities at the project site could be affected by the order.
“The court has not halted the groundbreaking ceremony of the refinery at this stage. However, activities at the site may be affected by the ruling as both parties are required not to carry activities until the case is heard on 14th October,” Dangote Group said.
Justice Jane Onyango directed that the status quo prevailing on the disputed parcel be maintained until October 14, when the matter will come up for an inter partes hearing.
The order followed an application by the Chandavai residents, who allege that their families have occupied, cultivated and developed portions of the land for generations.
The residents say they have used the land for farming and livestock keeping and have built homes, mosques and shrines there, with some relatives also buried on the property. They are challenging aspects of the land acquisition process and claim that affected occupants were not adequately recognised, notified, compensated or resettled.
The applicants had sought orders stopping the planned groundbreaking and development of the refinery, but the court did not grant that request at this stage.
The court instead directed the respondents to file their responses within 14 days and fixed October 14 for the inter partes hearing. It also warned that disobedience of the order would attract penal consequences.
The proposed refinery, estimated by Dangote at between $15 billion and $16 billion, is designed to process up to 700,000 barrels of crude oil per day and is expected to serve Kenya and other markets in the region.
The project forms part of Kenya’s wider plan to develop Lamu into an energy and logistics hub, with the refinery expected to process crude from Kenya and other African producers.
The legal dispute comes as preparations for the project’s groundbreaking intensify. The Star reported that about 2,930 metric tonnes of refinery equipment were delivered to Lamu Port this week.
Kenyan President William Ruto is expected to attend the September 30 ceremony.
Speaking at an investor event in Nairobi on Tuesday, Dangote expressed confidence that the refinery project would proceed despite the court order.
The Lamu refinery is intended to replicate the scale of Dangote’s 700,000-barrel-per-day refinery near Lagos and is expected to cost between $15 billion and $16 billion, with completion targeted for 2030.
The immediate legal focus will now shift to the October 14 hearing, when the respondents will have an opportunity to respond to the residents’ claims.
