The High Court in Malindi has declined to extend orders that had frozen activity on land set aside for Aliko Dangote’s planned oil refinery in Lamu, allowing work on the project to continue while a land dispute is heard.
Justice Jane Onyango on Wednesday, October 14, refused to issue fresh interim orders after finding that the petitioners, a group of 133 residents, had not served Dangote and the other respondents as the court had directed.
“You did not serve the respondents as per October 1 2026 directions. Serve him (Dangote) and all parties within 14 days before the hearing. Leave is granted to amend the petition within seven days,” Justice Onyango said, according to The Standard.
Petition cited land in Watamu
The residents, from the Hindi, Manda and Magogoni areas of Lamu County, went to court on September 23. They say they have occupied and farmed the land for years and were left out of the acquisition, compensation and resettlement process, The Kenya Times reported.
On September 25, the judge ordered the parties to maintain the status quo on the disputed parcel until October 14. At Wednesday’s hearing, lawyers for the Attorney General and the National Land Commission (NLC) asked the court to vacate those orders, saying they referred to land in Watamu rather than Lamu.
“We seek that the interim orders be vacated because they are touching on a different parcel of land in Watamu and not Lamu,” said NLC lawyer Irene Khaoya.
The petitioners’ advocate, Wakahiu, told the court he had struggled to obtain official records listing the address of the Dangote companies involved at the site, and that soil testing had already started.
“I am worried about what is happening on the ground. We are seeking for status quo to be maintained, drilling of soils for testing has commenced and if the status is not maintained, the villagers will stand to suffer,” he said.
Gitonga, the lawyer for Southern Engineering Company Limited (SECO), one of the respondents, said the companies could easily have been traced. “Service is mandatory. I have not been served and was not aware of this matter. There is an email for all these companies,” he said.
The court gave the petitioners seven days to amend their petition to reflect the correct land. The matter will be mentioned on November 24. The ruling does not decide the underlying claims over land ownership, compensation or environmental compliance.
A 700,000-barrel-a-day plant
The refinery is designed to process 700,000 barrels of crude oil a day and is estimated to cost Sh2.2 trillion. It forms part of the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport (LAPSSET) corridor and will include a 1,000-megawatt power plant, according to The Standard. The project is expected to cover between 7,000 and 10,000 acres. A groundbreaking ceremony was held on September 30.
Lands Cabinet Secretary Alice Wahome has maintained that most of the land earmarked for the refinery is public land owned by the government.
Other legal challenges
The Malindi case is one of several. Petitions filed in Malindi and Nairobi seek to stop the project or force the disclosure of its approvals and the government’s financial commitments. Respondents named in the cases include Dangote East Africa Refinery, the LAPSSET Corridor Development Authority, the NLC, the National Infrastructure Fund, the Capital Markets Authority, Nema, the National Treasury and Epra.
Separately, the Consumers Federation of Kenya (Cofek) has petitioned the Public Private Partnerships Petition Committee for details on the tenure and valuation of the 7,000 acres earmarked for the project and on Kenya’s 10 per cent stake, Business AM reported.
