𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭 𝐎𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐬 𝐐𝐮𝐨 𝐚𝐬 𝟏𝟑𝟑 𝐋𝐚𝐦𝐮 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐨𝐭𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐝

The Malindi Environment and Land Court has ordered parties to maintain the status quo on disputed land in Lamu as 133 Chandavai residents challenge plans linked to the proposed KSh2.2 trillion Dangote East Africa Refinery.

Justice Jane Onyango declined to certify the residents’ application as urgent on September 25, but directed that the dispute over Land Reference No. 13061 in the Manda Magogoni area remain unchanged until October 14, when the case will be heard.

The court also directed the respondents to be served with the application and given 14 days to file their responses before the inter partes hearing.

“It is hereby ordered that the application is not certified as urgent and that the application be served upon the respondents forthwith,” the court ordered.

“Upon service, the respondents shall file their response within 14 days. It is also hereby ordered that the application be fixed for hearing on October 14, 2026,” the court further stated.

The residents have challenged the planned development, saying their families have occupied and used parts of the disputed land for generations.

According to court papers, the residents say the land supports farming and livestock keeping and contains homes, mosques, shrines and family graves. They argue that they have not received adequate compensation or been given a clear resettlement plan.

The petitioners have named several government agencies and project-related bodies as respondents, including the National Land Commission, the LAPSSET Corridor Development Authority, the Lamu County Government and Dangote Industries.

The residents further allege that government and LAPSSET officials entered the disputed land with bulldozers on August 7, 2024, destroying crops and trees without adequate notice or compensation.

These are allegations contained in the court papers and have not been determined by the court.The court dispute comes as preparations for the refinery gather pace.

On September 26, the Port of Lamu received the MV Da Yang, which was carrying about 2,930 metric tonnes of heavy construction machinery for the planned refinery.

The arrival of the equipment came ahead of the planned September 30 groundbreaking ceremony for the project.

The proposed Dangote East Africa Refinery is estimated to cost about KSh2.2 trillion and is planned to have the capacity to process up to 700,000 barrels of crude oil per day.

The crude is expected to come from Kenya’s Lokichar oilfields in Turkana as well as other sources in East and Southern Africa.