Nigeria’s Dangote Group says a Kenyan court ruling over a land-rights dispute will not stop Wednesday’s groundbreaking for its planned 700,000-barrel-per-day refinery in Lamu. The ruling could, however, affect some activities at the site. The huge refinery project would significantly expand Dangote’s growing energy footprint beyond Nigeria and strengthen its position in East Africa’s fuel market.
The ruling is about a land dispute, not the refinery itself.
On September 25, the Malindi Environment and Land Court ordered that the existing “status quo” on the disputed land be maintained until October 14, meaning neither side should undertake activities affecting that land before the hearing.
The case was brought by 133 Chandavai residents, who claim the proposed refinery site is ancestral land where families have lived and farmed for generations. The court has not yet decided who is right and did not cancel the September 30 groundbreaking ceremony.