Dangote's Sh2tr Lamu refinery faces land compensation battle

Dangote Group President and CEO Aliko Dangote and President William Ruto during a tour of Dangote Refinery in Lekki, Lagos State, Nigeria. [PCS]

Plans to break ground on the Sh2 trillion Dangote Industries Oil Refinery in Lamu have run into a legal dispute, with more than 200 residents asking the court to halt the project until land ownership, resettlement and compensation claims have been resolved.

Two cases have been filed before the Malindi Environment and Lands Court by residents of Chandavai and Magogoni, who say their families have occupied, cultivated and developed the land earmarked for the refinery for generations.

The residents say they are not opposed to the project but want the government and developers to address their claims before the construction proceeds.

The legal challenge comes days before the planned groundbreaking ceremony scheduled for Wednesday, with the residents warning that further excavation and construction could destroy homes, crops, trees, graves and other community property.

In one of the suits, Salim Tima Swaleh and other residents have sued 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), the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport (LAPSSET) Corridor Development Authority, Lamu County Government, Dangote Industries and two companies described as contractors.

A separate suit filed by another group of residents has named LAPSSET, Lamu County Government, Dangote Industries, Engineering India Limited and Southern Engineering Co Limited (SECO) as defendants.

The residents are seeking injunctions to stop further development on the disputed land until their interests are identified and compensation or resettlement arrangements made.

Speaking after filing the cases and during a demonstration in Malindi, the affected residents, led by Suleiman Ali, Kanywa Kamunde and Tima Swaleh, said they would only support the project proceeding after their compensation concerns are addressed.

“Although we fully support the project, the government must compensate us before the actual work begins, as we fear that we will be forcibly evicted from our ancestral land,” Swaleh said.

Through their lawyer George Wakahiu, the residents claim they have lived on the land for decades, using it for farming, livestock keeping, homes and religious activities.

They say the disputed area, which includes portions of LR No. 13061 and land around Chandavai, Manda Bay and Magogoni, contains family homes, mosques, shrines and graves.

The residents claim that on August 7, 2024, officers and agents associated with the government and LAPSSET entered the disputed land with heavy machinery and bulldozers.

They allege that crops, trees, structures and livestock were destroyed without prior notice, consultation, valuation or compensation.

According to the residents, local administrators subsequently informed them that the land had previously been acquired for LAPSSET-related projects and later allocated to the Ministry of Defence for infrastructure works around Manda Bay.

The alleged works included roads and expansion of facilities around the Kenya Navy Base at Manda Bay, US Camp Simba and Magogoni Airfield.

Some residents claim they were asked not to interfere with the works and were promised compensation. They further allege that some families were forced to move into rented accommodation to make way for the developments.

The residents now say activities linked to the refinery began in July 2026, including digging, soil testing and site preparation.

They claim that on September 10, police officers, chiefs and other government agents cleared one of the disputed parcels and informed them that the site would be used for the refinery's groundbreaking ceremony.

Around September 20, they say they learnt that the government had commenced a compulsory acquisition process involving land in the area.

The residents are particularly concerned that compensation could be paid to people listed as registered landowners while excluding families who have actually occupied and used the land for generations.

Swaleh, in an affidavit filed in support of the case, acknowledged that the residents do not hold registered title deeds to the properties they occupy.

However, she argued that the absence of title deeds should not automatically extinguish their interests in the land, particularly since they have occupied it for generations.

“The plaintiffs’ case is not founded merely upon a claim that occupation automatically confers registered ownership. Rather, the plaintiffs seek recognition and protection of their actual occupation, possession, cultivation, developments and other identifiable interests in the land, particularly in the context of any compulsory acquisition or public taking affecting the land,” the residents' lawyer said.

The residents argue that the land is community land under the stewardship of Lamu County Government and that their interests should be identified and considered during any compulsory acquisition process.

They rely, among other provisions, on Article 40(4) of the Constitution and the compulsory acquisition provisions of the Land Act.

The residents accuse the government and its agencies of failing to follow the statutory process governing compulsory acquisition, including issuing notices, identifying interested parties, conducting surveys and valuations, holding public participation and providing compensation before taking possession.

They also allege that authorities have failed to adequately consult affected residents or provide meaningful opportunities for public participation.

Wakahiu argued that his clients face an immediate threat of further displacement if the project proceeds before the case was heard.

“There is therefore an immediate and real threat that the defendants may enter upon, clear, excavate, fence and construct upon additional portions occupied by the plaintiffs,” he said.

He added that continued construction could cause irreversible damage to agricultural land, crops, trees, structures and livelihoods that could not adequately be remedied through an award of damages.

The residents also claim that some people who have been compensated are not the actual occupants and users of the land.

Swaleh said the residents had received little information on who was being compensated and how the compensation process was being conducted.

“The information received indicated that compensation arrangements were being made or contemplated in relation to certain persons described or treated as landowners, while the plaintiffs, who are actual occupants of the affected land, had not been individually identified and included,” she said.

He said residents had not been given a comprehensive list of interested persons, affected parcels, maps, valuation reports, compensation schedules or inquiry proceedings.

The residents want the court to compel the government to disclose notices of intention to acquire the land, survey plans, maps, valuation reports, compensation schedules and other documents underpinning the compulsory acquisition process.

They have also raised constitutional and environmental concerns, citing alleged violations of the right to property under Article 40, fair administrative action under Article 47 and access to information under Article 35.

They allege that the authorities failed to comply with environmental assessment requirements before undertaking activities associated with the project.

The dispute places long-standing claims of community occupation in Chandavai and Magogoni at the centre of competing infrastructure and industrial development plans in Lamu, including LAPSSET-related projects, defence infrastructure around Manda Bay and the proposed refinery.

With the groundbreaking ceremony already set, the residents are asking the court to stop further activity on the disputed land until their claims are heard and determined.