More than 130 residents of Chandavai in Kenya’s Lamu County have filed a lawsuit seeking to halt construction of a proposed 700,000-barrel-per-day oil refinery ahead of a groundbreaking ceremony scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 30, Citizen Digital reported.
The 2 trillion Kenyan shilling refinery is being developed by Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote in partnership with the Kenyan government.
The 133 plaintiffs have sued several government agencies, including the Office of the President, the National Land Commission (NLC), the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport (LAPSSET) Corridor Development Authority and the Lamu County Government, as well as Dangote Industries and two contractors.
The residents accuse the government of unlawfully taking over and destroying land they say their families have occupied and cultivated for generations.
They say the refinery development threatens to displace them without adequate consultation, resettlement or compensation.
According to court documents, the plaintiffs claim long-standing customary and community rights over portions of LR No. 13061 in Chandavai, where they say families have farmed, raised livestock and built homes, mosques and shrines. Some relatives are also buried on the disputed land.
The residents do not hold formal title deeds but argue that their long-standing occupation and use of the land give them compensable interests under Kenyan law.
“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,” the plaintiffs said in court documents.
They allege that government officials and agents associated with LAPSSET entered the disputed land with heavy machinery in August 2024, destroying crops, trees and other property without prior notice or compensation.
Local administrators later told residents that the land had previously been acquired for the LAPSSET project and subsequently allocated to the Ministry of Defence for infrastructure around Manda Bay, according to the lawsuit.
The dispute has intensified following preparations for the Dangote refinery, with residents alleging that soil testing and other preparatory work began in July 2026.
They also claim that police officers, chiefs and other government officials cleared part of the disputed land on Sept. 10 for the planned groundbreaking ceremony.
The plaintiffs are asking the court to halt further construction and excavation, arguing that continued work could cause irreversible damage while the land dispute remains unresolved.
They also allege that authorities failed to follow compulsory acquisition procedures, including issuing notices, identifying people with interests in the land, conducting valuations and paying compensation before taking possession.
The residents have also raised environmental concerns and alleged violations of their constitutional rights to property, fair administrative action and access to information.
Dangote Industries and the Kenyan government have not commented publicly on the lawsuit.
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