A Kenyan court has lifted the order that halted work on Aliko Dangote’s planned oil refinery in Lamu.
The ruling removes a major legal obstacle for the East Africa’s industrial projects.
High Court Judge Jane Onyango ruled in Malindi on Wednesday that the applicants had cited the wrong land parcel in their petition.
She granted them leave to correct it. She also pointed to the petitioners’ failure to serve Dangote and the state agencies named in the case, and declined to issue any interim status quo orders.
In practice, construction can now continue.
The court issued the interim restriction on 25 September, directing the parties to maintain the status quo on the contested land pending the 14 October hearing.
The petition came from 133 residents of Chandavai in Lamu County, who say the land is part of their ancestral heritage and that their families have lived and farmed there for generations.
They also argue that the project lacks a resettlement plan and the required environmental impact assessment, and that public participation has been inadequate.
Dangote Group maintained throughout that the order did not stop the project. President William Ruto broke ground on 30 September, despite the court order freezing activities on the site.
The refinery is a $16 billion investment designed to process 700,000 barrels of crude daily, matching Dangote’s existing refinery in Lagos. Dangote hopes to complete it by 2030.
The ruling is a procedural win, not a final resolution. The legal dispute over land ownership and environmental compliance continues. The petitioners can refile with the correct parcel, so the project is likely to face further scrutiny in court.
For now, Dangote and the Kenyan government have the clearance they wanted. The ruling came two days after Kenyan parliamentary leaders pledged support for the project and for the company’s planned IPO.
Administrator and Writer
