A Kenyan High Court has ordered construction to be paused on Aliko Dangote’s $16 billion oil refinery in the East African nation, after a group of locals filed a case opposing the project
Aliko Dangote, the richest man in Africa, faces a fresh setback ahead of the opening of a Ksh.2 trillion oil refinery project in Lamu.
While preparations for a September 30 groundbreaking ceremony are ongoing, more than 130 residents of Chandavai in Lamu County have moved to court seeking to stop what they describe as the unlawful takeover and destruction of land their families have occupied and cultivated for generations.
The residents contend that the development by the Nigerian billionaire threatens to displace them without a resettlement plan or compensation.
The 133 plaintiffs have sued the Office of the President, the Cabinet Secretary for Defence, the State Department for Lands and Physical Planning, the Attorney General, the National Land Commission (NLC), the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport (LAPSSET) Corridor Development Authority, the Lamu County Government and Dangote Industries, together with two companies described as contractors.
The residents claim they have, for generations, occupied, cultivated and developed identifiable portions of land comprised in or forming part of LR No. 13061 in Chandavai.
They have asked the court to intervene, arguing that continued construction and excavation would cause further destruction of crops, trees, homes and other property and permanently alter the character of the disputed land.
“Continued construction or excavation will cause further destruction of crops, trees, structures and other property and will materially alter the physical character of the land, thereby making the dispute substantially more difficult to resolve,” the plaintiffs state in court documents.
The residents say their claim is based on long-standing occupation, customary or community tenure, possession and beneficial use of the land, although they do not hold formal title deeds.
According to the plaint, their families have historically used the land for farming and livestock keeping and have built homes, mosques and shrines on it. Some family members, they say, are also buried on the disputed land.
The plaintiffs contend that the land is community land under the stewardship of the Lamu County Government and that they occupied it peacefully for generations without previous disputes over ownership.
They argue that some of the property at risk cannot be adequately compensated through monetary damages.
“Some of the affected property cannot readily be replaced by monetary compensation, particularly ancestral and family homes, graves, trees, long-standing occupation sites and community structures,” they claim.
The residents allege that on August 7, 2024, officers and agents associated with the national government and LAPSSET entered the disputed land with heavy machinery and bulldozers.
They claim crops, trees and other property were destroyed without prior notice, consultation or compensation.
According to the plaintiffs, local administrators subsequently informed them that the land had previously been acquired by the government for the LAPSSET project and later allocated to the Ministry of Defence for infrastructure works around Manda Bay.
The works, they allege, included road construction and expansion of facilities around the Kenya Navy Base at Manda Bay, US Camp Simba and Magogoni Airfield.
Some residents claim they were instructed not to interfere with the works and were promised compensation for destroyed crops and other losses.
The plaintiffs further claim that some families were forced to move into rented accommodation to make way for the developments.
The land dispute has now taken on a new dimension following preparations for a proposed Dangote refinery in Lamu.
The residents allege that soil testing and other preparatory activities linked to the proposed refinery began in July 2026.
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