A Kenyan court has ordered that the status quo be maintained on disputed land earmarked for Aliko Dangote’s planned refinery in Lamu County. The company and the government say Wednesday’s groundbreaking ceremony will go ahead regardless.
The Malindi Environment and Land Court’s order, dated September 25 but only made public on Monday, maintains the “status quo prevailing” on the land until a hearing on October 14. Judge Jane Onyango issued the order after a group of petitioners filed a case opposing the project.
The case was brought by Salim Tima Swale and 132 other residents of Chandavai, who say the land is ancestral and that their families have lived and farmed there for generations. They say they have built homes, mosques, and shrines on the land, and that some relatives are buried there.
The residents claim police and chiefs cleared one parcel on September 10 ahead of the planned presidential groundbreaking.
They also say they learned on September 20 that a compulsory acquisition process had begun, but that it targeted absentee titleholders rather than the people occupying the land. The petitioners further argue that the project involves forceful eviction with no resettlement plan, and that the required public participation was not carried out.
The defendants include the Office of the President, the Attorney General, the National Land Commission, the LAPSSET Corridor Development Authority, and the Lamu County Government. Dangote Industries and two contractors are also named.
Dangote Group stated that the ruling would not halt the ceremony but might affect some site activities.
The company mentioned that no activity will be carried out at the project site until the case is heard. Energy Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi said in Mombasa on Tuesday that the launch would proceed as planned. President William Ruto is expected to attend.
The Kenya Times noted that the September 25 order does not expressly prohibit the ceremony. It also stated the order addressed only the immediate application and did not resolve the residents’ underlying claims over acquisition, compensation, and resettlement.
Some outlets reported that a court had declined to block the project. Capital FM said the decision allows the project to proceed while preserving the parties’ legal rights.
Administrator and Writer
