Kenyan Court Pauses Building of $16 Billion Dangote Refinery

A Kenyan court has issued an interim order affecting preparations for the proposed Dangote Refinery in Lamu, after 133 residents challenged the planned development over a disputed parcel of land they say their families have occupied and cultivated for generations. 

The proposed refinery, estimated at about KSh2 trillion, is planned for Lamu County and is expected to have a processing capacity of up to 700,000 barrels of crude oil per day. 

Residents challenge land acquisition

The case was filed by residents of Chandavai who argue that the land earmarked for the project includes ancestral homes, farms, trees, mosques, shrines and family graves.

They allege that the land was taken over without adequate notice, compensation or a clear resettlement arrangement. They have named several government agencies, Lamu County Government and Dangote Industries among the respondents. 

What did the court order?

Justice Jane Onyango of the Malindi Environment and Land Court did not grant the residents’ request to formally stop the refinery project.

Instead, the court ordered that the existing status quo on the disputed LR No. 13061 land be maintained until October 14, 2026, when the matter will come up for an inter partes hearing. The respondents have been given 14 days to respond to the application. 

This means reports that “the court has stopped Dangote Refinery in Kenya” need some qualification. The court has not issued a final order cancelling or permanently stopping the refinery. Rather, it has imposed a status-quo arrangement while the land dispute proceeds.

Groundbreaking ceremony faces uncertainty

The court case comes just before the planned September 30 groundbreaking ceremony for the project.

Some reports have interpreted the status-quo order as preventing construction from proceeding before the October 14 hearing, although the court order itself does not expressly state that the groundbreaking ceremony is cancelled. 

The legal dispute could therefore become an important early test for the proposed refinery, particularly concerning land ownership, compulsory acquisition, compensation and the rights of local communities.

For now, however, the Dangote refinery project itself has not been cancelled by the Kenyan court. The substantive dispute remains before the court.