Dangote Says Court Order on Lamu Refinery Is 'Normal for Us in Africa'

Aliko Dangote, who heads Dangote Industries Limited as President and Chief Executive Officer, has brushed aside a Kenyan court directive that put work at the proposed Lamu refinery on hold, calling the setback "normal for us in Africa" and vowing that his organisation will stand up to anyone working against the investment.

His comments came after the Malindi Environment and Land Court in Kenya ruled that the situation at the planned refinery site must remain unchanged while a case filed by farmers and residents of Chandavai in Lamu County is heard.

Dangote said the legal action did not take him by surprise, pointing to past difficulties his company had run into in other parts of the continent. He recounted that he was arriving by air at night and had turned off his Wi-Fi to sleep undisturbed, only to be greeted by the news once he switched his phone back on.

He said he was told about reports by Bloomberg, adding: "I'm sure some of you must have seen it. One court has given an order that we shouldn't do any construction. I said, no, no, this is normal for us in Africa, you know."

"We don't care. We don't care. In fact, this is even small," Dangote said, recalling that in Senegal the company's factory was halted for a whole year without any court involvement, and that the matter went all the way to the Supreme Court before a ruling was obtained. "So anybody who wants to cause trouble, we are ready for them."

The Dangote Group chairman also said he was confident the company knew who was behind efforts to frustrate its investments. "No, no, brother, don't worry. We know who are the people doing all these things, so we'll face them," he said.

Justice Jane Onyango issued the order preserving the "status quo prevailing" at the site. It was handed down on September 25 and became public on Monday, and the court is due to give further directions on October 14.

George Wakahiu, the lawyer acting for the petitioners, told Bloomberg that construction should not start before the court sits again on October 14.

The petitioners claim the refinery development would bring about the "forceful eviction of the plaintiffs from their lands, damage and destruction of their properties and yet there is no resettlement plan for them."

They also argue that Dangote and Kenyan authorities have not satisfied the country's environmental rules, among them the requirement for an environmental impact assessment before a major project proceeds. In their view, the project also falls short of Kenya's constitutional demand for public participation.

In a statement carried by Reuters on Tuesday, the Dangote Group said the court had not specifically stopped the planned groundbreaking ceremony. "The court has not halted the groundbreaking ceremony of the refinery at this stage. However, activities at the site may be affected by the ruling, as both parties are required not to carry out activities until the case is heard on 14th October," the company said.

The facility is designed to process 700,000 barrels per day in Lamu County, Kenya. According to Dangote, it would be bigger than the 650,000-barrel-per-day refinery he already runs in Lagos.

Kenyan President William Ruto had said earlier that his government was speeding up the administrative steps the project needs. He spoke on Friday while touring the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lekki, Lagos, with the groundbreaking for the Kenyan plant planned for September 30.

Ruto said the land for the project had already been secured and that other conditions were being addressed so that bureaucratic delays could be removed and construction and eventual operation of the refinery made easier. He portrayed the facility as a regional undertaking that would lift industrial activity in East Africa, generate jobs and build technical skills across the region.

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