A Kenyan court has ordered parties to maintain the existing status quo on disputed land earmarked for Dangote Industries’ planned oil refinery in Lamu County, creating a legal hurdle for the multibillion-dollar project days before its scheduled groundbreaking.
The order was issued by Justice Jane Onyango of the Malindi Environment and Land Court following a case brought by 133 residents of Chandavai in Lamu County. The residents are challenging the use of the land for the proposed refinery and have raised concerns over ownership, occupation, compensation and resettlement.
The disputed property, identified as L.R. No. 13061 in the Hindi, Manda and Magogoni area, is claimed by the residents as land their families have occupied, cultivated and used for generations. They have alleged that homes, farms and community sites could be affected by the project and are seeking recognition of their interests and compensation before development proceeds.
The court directed that the prevailing status quo on the disputed parcel be maintained until October 14, when the case is scheduled for an inter partes hearing. The order followed an application by the residents seeking to stop the planned refinery development and the September 30 groundbreaking.
However, the order does not expressly cancel the planned groundbreaking ceremony. Dangote Group said on Tuesday that the court had not halted the ceremony and that the company still planned to proceed with the event. The company acknowledged that activities at the site could nevertheless be affected by the requirement for the parties to maintain the existing situation until the case is heard.
The legal dispute therefore creates a distinction between the ceremonial launch of the project and physical activities on the contested parcel. While Dangote says the groundbreaking can go ahead, work directly affected by the court’s status quo order remains subject to the ongoing proceedings.
The proposed refinery is planned to have a processing capacity of about 700,000 barrels of crude oil per day and is expected to serve Kenya and other markets in East Africa. The project has been presented by Kenyan authorities as a major investment that could strengthen regional fuel supply and reduce dependence on imported refined petroleum products.
The residents, however, say development should not proceed without resolving their claims over the land. Their legal action has brought questions about compulsory acquisition, compensation and the rights of people occupying land without formal title documents to the centre of the dispute.
The court has not yet determined the residents’ substantive claims or ruled that the land was unlawfully acquired. Those issues remain before the Environment and Land Court and are expected to receive further consideration at the October 14 hearing.
For Dangote Industries, the immediate position is therefore mixed: the company says the September 30 groundbreaking remains on course, but the court’s interim order places restrictions on activities involving the disputed land while the legal challenge proceeds.
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