Dangote Presses Ahead With a $16 Billion Kenyan Refinery After a Court Freezes Work at the Site

Aliko Dangote, the Nigerian industrialist who built Africa's largest refinery outside Lagos, says his planned $16 billion refinery at Lamu on the Kenyan coast will proceed despite a court order restricting work at the site. Nigeria's This Day reported him remaining confident about the project's take-off while insisting that the groundbreaking scheduled for today would go ahead.

The order came from the Malindi Environment and Land Court, where Judge Jane Onyango directed that the prevailing status quo be maintained until a hearing on October 14. The ruling temporarily bars clearing, excavation, fencing, demolition and construction on the affected land after a suit by 133 residents of Chandavai in Lamu County, who say the land is their ancestral heritage and that their families have farmed it for generations. The court declined the petitioners' request to block the ceremony itself.

Dangote's own response was dismissive of the obstacle. Asked about the order, he said this is normal for us in Africa, while his company acknowledged that activities at the site could be affected until the case is heard.

The industrial logic is straightforward. East Africa imports nearly all of its refined fuel, and a large coastal refinery would substitute local production for cargoes priced off Gulf and Indian markets at a moment when the Strait of Hormuz is closed and Brent trades above $100. The legal logic is equally straightforward, and it concerns who holds title to the land the project needs.