Fresh headache for Dangote as Lamu residents launch court battle over refinery land

Aliko Dangote’s planned Ksh.2 trillion oil refinery project in Lamu has been hit by a legal challenge from residents who are seeking to stop construction on land they claim their families have occupied and cultivated for generations.

The development comes just days before a proposed September 30 groundbreaking ceremony, with 133 residents of Chandavai, Lamu County, asking the court to halt activities on disputed land until their claims over ownership, occupation and compensation are determined.

The residents accuse government agencies, the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport (LAPSSET) Corridor Development Authority and Dangote Industries, among other parties, of proceeding with developments on land they claim to have traditionally occupied without first resettling or compensating affected families.

The case names the Office of the President, the Cabinet Secretary for Defence, the State Department for Lands and Physical Planning, the Attorney General, the National Land Commission (NLC), LAPSSET, the Lamu County Government and Dangote Industries, alongside two companies described as contractors.

At the centre of the dispute is land identified in the court papers as LR No. 13061 in Chandavai.

Residents claim generations of occupation

The plaintiffs say their families have occupied, farmed and developed identifiable portions of the disputed land for generations.

Although they acknowledge that many of them do not hold formal title deeds, they argue that their long-standing occupation, customary or community tenure, possession and beneficial use give them interests in the land that should be recognised under Kenyan law.

According to the court documents, families have used the land for farming and livestock keeping and have established homes, mosques, shrines and other community structures.

Some residents also claim that family members are buried on the disputed land.

They maintain that the land constitutes community land under the stewardship of the Lamu County Government and that their occupation had continued without previous ownership disputes.

The plaintiffs argue that the loss of some of the property cannot simply be addressed through financial compensation.

“Some of the affected property cannot readily be replaced by monetary compensation, particularly ancestral and family homes, graves, trees, long-standing occupation sites and community structures,” they state in the court documents.

Heavy machinery and earlier infrastructure works

The residents’ claims extend beyond the proposed refinery.

They allege that on August 7, 2024, officers and agents associated with the national government and LAPSSET entered the disputed area with heavy machinery and bulldozers.

According to the plaintiffs, crops, trees and other property were destroyed without prior notice, consultation or compensation.

They say local administrators subsequently informed them that the government had previously acquired the land for the LAPSSET project and that parts had later been allocated to the Ministry of Defence for infrastructure works around Manda Bay.

The residents allege that those works included road construction and expansion of facilities around the Kenya Navy Base at Manda Bay, US Camp Simba and Magogoni Airfield.

Some families claim they were told not to interfere with the works and were promised compensation for destroyed crops and other losses.

The plaintiffs further allege that some residents were forced to move into rented accommodation to make way for the developments.

Dangote project adds new layer to dispute

The land dispute has now acquired a fresh dimension with preparations for the proposed Dangote refinery.

The residents allege that soil testing and other preparatory activities associated with the refinery began in July 2026.

They claim local administrators later informed them that the refinery project would proceed alongside the existing LAPSSET and Manda Bay infrastructure developments.

According to the court papers, the residents allege that police officers, chiefs and other government officials cleared one of the disputed parcels on September 10, telling them the site was required for the refinery’s planned groundbreaking ceremony.

The plaintiffs say they subsequently learnt, around September 20, that the government had commenced a compulsory acquisition process involving land in Lamu.

They allege that the process is designed to compensate absentee landowners whose titles they claim were unlawfully or fraudulently obtained, while failing to recognise residents who have physically occupied and used the land for generations.

The residents argue that the absence of registered title deeds does not automatically extinguish their interests or their right to compensation.

Constitutional rights cited

The plaintiffs have based their case partly on Article 40(4) of the Constitution and provisions of the Land Act dealing with compulsory acquisition.

They argue that people who are actually occupying and using land should be identified and considered for compensation where they have legally recognisable interests, even if those interests do not appear on the land register.

The residents accuse the authorities of failing to follow the statutory process for compulsory acquisition.

Among the alleged shortcomings are failures to issue required notices, conduct surveys and valuations, identify all persons with interests in the land, conduct statutory inquiries and provide compensation before taking possession.

They also allege that affected residents were not adequately consulted and were not given meaningful opportunities to participate in decisions affecting their land.

The plaintiffs further claim that crops, trees and other property were destroyed without proper valuation or compensation.

They contend that the alleged actions violated constitutional protections, including the right to property under Article 40, the right to fair administrative action under Article 47 and the right of access to information under Article 35.

Environmental concerns also raised

The legal challenge also raises environmental concerns.

The residents allege that the defendants failed to comply with requirements under the Environmental Management and Co-ordination Act and applicable environmental assessment procedures.

Their position is that government agencies and private developers cannot lawfully take possession of contested land, displace occupants or destroy property before the compulsory acquisition process has been properly undertaken.

According to the plaintiffs, lawful acquisition requires authorities to identify the affected land and all persons with interests in it, issue the necessary statutory notices, conduct an inquiry, undertake valuation and assess compensation before payment or lawful deposit of compensation and possession.

They also accuse the NLC, the State Department for Lands and the Lamu County Government of failing to adequately protect or formally recognise the interests they claim in the disputed land.

A wider land-use dispute

The case places long-running claims of customary and community occupation in Chandavai against several major infrastructure and industrial development plans in Lamu.

The disputed area is linked in the residents’ account to earlier LAPSSET-related works and infrastructure around Manda Bay, while the proposed Dangote refinery has introduced another major development project into the dispute.

For the residents, the central issue is whether people who have occupied and used the land for generations can be displaced without recognition of their claimed interests and without compensation.

They are asking the court to intervene as construction and excavation activities continue, warning that further work could permanently alter the disputed land and destroy homes, crops, trees and other property before the underlying claims are resolved.

“Continued construction or excavation will cause further destruction of crops, trees, structures and other property and will materially alter the physical character of the land, thereby making the dispute substantially more difficult to resolve,” the plaintiffs state in their court documents.

The case now places the proposed Ksh.2 trillion refinery development at the centre of a wider legal battle over land rights, compulsory acquisition, compensation and community occupation in Lamu.

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