President William Ruto (left) talking to Billionaire Aliko Dangote during their visit to the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemical Company in Lekki, Nigeria, on Friday, September 25, 2026
By Kenyans
The Malindi Environment and Land Court has declined to grant an application seeking to stop the planned Dangote refinery groundbreaking and development in Lamu, instead ordering parties to maintain the status quo on the disputed land until October 14.
This follows an application by 133 residents of Chandavai in Lamu County challenging the planned Ksh2 trillion refinery on land they claimed as ancestral property.
In a court document obtained by Kenyans.co.ke, Justice Jane Onyango on September 25 declined to certify the application as urgent and ordered the parties to maintain the status quo on disputed land.
Under the interim order, the status quo on Land Reference No. 13061 in Manda Magogoni, Lamu, will be maintained until October 14, when the application will be heard.
The court further directed the respondents to be served with the application and given 14 days to file their responses before the inter partes hearing.
“It is hereby ordered that the application is not certified as urgent and that the application be served upon the respondents forthwith,” the court ordered.
“Upon service, the respondents shall file their response within 14 days. It is also hereby ordered that the application be fixed for hearing on October 14, 2026,” the court further stated.
The order itself does not expressly state that the September 30 groundbreaking is cancelled.
However, the applicants’ lawyer, according to Bloomberg, has interpreted the status quo order as meaning construction cannot begin before October 14.
The 133 residents challenged the takeover of the land they claim their families have occupied and used for generations, arguing they have not been adequately compensated or given a clear resettlement plan.
They claimed that parts of LR No. 13061 are used for farming and livestock keeping and contain homes, mosques, shrines and family graves, making the land central to their livelihoods and community life.
In their application, the petitioners named several government agencies, including the National Land Commission, LAPSSET Corridor Development Authority, the Lamu County Government, and Dangote Industries as respondents.
The residents alleged that government and LAPSSET agents entered the disputed land with bulldozers on August 7, 2024, destroying crops and trees without prior notice or compensation.
The latest dispute comes as the government prepares to break ground for the refinery, with Lamu Port receiving 2,930 metric tonnes of heavy machinery aboard the MV Da Yang on September 26 for the project.
The proposed Ksh2.2 trillion refinery is expected to process up to 700,000 barrels of crude oil daily, sourced from Kenya’s Lokichar oilfields in Turkana and other parts of East and Southern Africa.
The respondents have been given 14 days after service of the application to file their responses, with the matter scheduled for an inter partes hearing on October 14.