A Kenyan court has ordered parties to maintain the status quo on land earmarked for the proposed Dangote oil refinery in Lamu County, effectively restricting activities on the disputed site pending the hearing of a case brought by local residents, even as Dangote Group maintains that the order does not stop the project’s scheduled groundbreaking ceremony.
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The order was made by Justice Jane Onyango of the Environment and Land Court in Malindi on September 25, 2026, following an application by residents of Chandavai challenging the use of land for the multibillion-dollar refinery project. The matter is scheduled for further hearing on October 14, 2026.
The proposed refinery, estimated at about $16 billion, is designed to process about 700,000 barrels of crude oil per day and is expected to serve Kenya and the wider East African region.
The legal dispute comes just as preparations were being intensified for the formal groundbreaking of the project, which had been scheduled for September 30.
Court records reported in Kenya show that 133 residents of Chandavai in Lamu County approached the court, claiming ancestral and other interests in the land identified as Land Reference No. 13061 in Manda Magogoni, Lamu.
The residents contend that the proposed project threatens to displace them from land which their families have occupied and used over generations.
According to their application, portions of the land are used for farming and livestock rearing and also contain homes, mosques, shrines and family graves.
They alleged that government and LAPSSET officials entered the disputed land with bulldozers in August 2024 and destroyed crops and trees without adequate notice, compensation or a resettlement arrangement. Those claims remain allegations before the court and have not yet been finally determined.
The petitioners further contend that the refinery project could result in their forceful eviction and destruction of property without an adequate resettlement plan.
They also allege non-compliance with Kenya’s environmental requirements, arguing that a mandatory environmental impact assessment should precede implementation of a project of that magnitude.
Another issue raised by the residents is whether the public participation required under Kenyan law and the Constitution was adequately conducted before the project advanced.
The court has not yet determined the merits of those allegations.
Justice Onyango did not grant a final order stopping the refinery project. Instead, the court declined to certify the residents’ application as urgent and directed that the existing status of the disputed land be preserved until the parties return to court.
“The status quo prevailing” is to be maintained, according to the order.
The court also directed that the respondents be served with the application and be given 14 days to file their responses, while fixing October 14 for the inter partes hearing.
A lawyer representing the petitioners, George Wakahiu, was reported as saying that the practical effect of the order was that construction should not begin before the October 14 hearing.
Dangote Group, however, drew a distinction between physical activities on the disputed site and the ceremonial groundbreaking of the refinery.
In a statement reported by Reuters on Tuesday, the company said the court had not stopped the groundbreaking ceremony, although activities on the project site could be affected by the status quo order.
“The court has not halted the groundbreaking ceremony of the refinery at this stage. However, activities at the site may be affected by the ruling, as both parties are required not to carry out activities until the case is heard on 14th October,” the company said.
The distinction means that while the company intends to proceed with the formal launch of the project, physical works involving the disputed land may have to await further directions from the court.
Preparations for the project had already advanced substantially before the order became public.
On September 26, 2,930 metric tonnes of heavy machinery reportedly arrived at Lamu Port aboard the MV Da Yang for the proposed refinery, illustrating the scale of mobilisation ahead of the scheduled groundbreaking.
The litigation comes days after Kenyan President William Ruto visited the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lekki, Lagos, where he publicly expressed his government’s support for the proposed Kenyan refinery.
During the visit, Ruto said his government had secured the land required for the project and was working to fast-track administrative and regulatory processes to prevent unnecessary delays.
“We have already secured the land that is necessary for this,” Ruto said during the visit, adding that his administration was working on other requirements so that time would not be lost to bureaucratic procedures.
The land dispute now before the court, however, raises competing claims concerning at least part of the property intended for the project.
Ruto had announced that the groundbreaking ceremony for what is being called the East Africa Oil Refinery would take place in Lamu on September 30.
The President described the planned facility as a regional rather than purely Kenyan project and said several neighbouring heads of government had been invited to participate in the launch.
Dangote has said the Kenyan refinery will have a capacity of about 700,000 barrels per day, exceeding the 650,000-barrel-per-day design capacity of the company’s refinery in Lagos.
He also disclosed plans for the Lamu industrial complex to include a one-million-tonne polypropylene plant, a power facility with about 1,000 megawatts of generation capacity, and additional processing units adapted to the crude oil expected to be handled at the facility.
The company expects the refinery to supply not only Kenya but other East African markets, with regional governments potentially participating in the investment. Reuters reported that Dangote Group plans to retain a 70 per cent interest while regional governments, including Kenya and Rwanda, would have opportunities to take equity stakes.
Supporters of the project have presented it as a major industrial investment capable of reducing East Africa’s reliance on imported refined petroleum products, generating employment, expanding technical skills and stimulating downstream industries.
The court proceedings, however, place land rights, environmental compliance, compensation, resettlement and public participation at the centre of the project’s immediate legal challenges.
For now, Dangote Group says the September 30 groundbreaking remains on course, but activities involving the disputed land are subject to the court’s status quo order until at least October 14, when Justice Onyango is expected to hear the parties and give further directions.
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