Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals Chairman, Aliko Dangote, has reacted to a Kenyan court order stopping construction activities at the proposed $17 billion East African refinery project in Lamu County.
Dangote said the company was prepared to deal with the legal challenge and other disputes surrounding the project.
He spoke during a high-level investor engagement for the Dangote Refinery initial public offering (IPO) with East African institutional investors at the Nairobi Securities Exchange in Kenya.
Dangote Reacts to Court Order
The reaction followed an order by the Malindi Environment and Land Court after 133 residents of Chandavai, Lamu County, challenged the refinery project.
The residents opposed the development over alleged forced eviction and destruction of properties, while also claiming that the land designated for the refinery forms part of their ancestral heritage.
Reacting to the court action, Dangote described legal challenges as a familiar experience for major projects undertaken by his group across Africa.
“One court has given an order that we shouldn’t do any construction. I said, no, no, this is normal for us in Africa, we don’t care. In fact, this is even small,” Dangote said.
He cited a previous dispute involving the group’s operations in Senegal, where he said construction was stopped for about a year before the company pursued the matter through the Supreme Court.
“So anybody who wants to cause trouble, we are ready for them. We know who are the people doing all these things, so we’ll face them,” he added.
Dangote said the company was aware of developments surrounding the dispute and was prepared to address the issues.
What the Kenyan Court Ordered
The Malindi Environment and Land Court suspended construction activities at the proposed refinery site following the case filed by the 133 Chandavai residents.
The residents maintain that their families have occupied and farmed the disputed land for generations.
Further directions in the case are expected on October 14, following the order issued on September 25.
The court case remains before the Kenyan judiciary.
Dangote Says Groundbreaking Could Proceed
The Dangote Group had earlier said the court order would not, at that stage, stop the planned groundbreaking ceremony for the proposed refinery.
The company said the order required both parties to refrain from certain activities at the site pending the hearing of the case.
“The court has not halted the groundbreaking ceremony of the refinery at this stage,” the company said in an earlier statement.
The proposed refinery is designed to have a capacity of 700,000 barrels per day.
Kenya Prepares for September 30 Groundbreaking
The Kenyan government has been preparing for the September 30, 2026 groundbreaking ceremony for the East Africa Oil Refinery project in Lamu.
Kenyan Deputy President Kithure Kindiki said authorities were putting final arrangements in place for the event.
The ceremony is expected to attract government officials and other stakeholders from Kenya and the wider East African region.
The proposed refinery is expected to form part of a large-scale energy and industrial hub on Kenya’s coast, with potential implications for crude oil processing and related economic activities.
The ongoing court case has introduced a legal dispute into preparations for the project, while Dangote’s latest comments indicate that his group intends to continue engaging with the issues surrounding the development.
