Over 130 residents from Chandavai in Lamu County have filed a lawsuit against Nigerian industrialist Aliko Dangote and multiple Kenyan state agencies, seeking to halt construction on a proposed Ksh 2 trillion oil refinery project.
The legal challenge comes just days before a scheduled groundbreaking ceremony on September 30, placing the multi-trillion-shilling development in jeopardy.
Allegations of Unlawful Displacement and Eviction
The 133 plaintiffs claim that state actors and private contractors have systematically cleared land that their families have occupied, cultivated, and used under customary tenure for generations. The dispute centers on land parcel LR No. 13061 in Chandavai.
According to court filings, the residents contend that heavy machinery and bulldozers first entered the property on August 7, 2024, destroying crops, homes, and community structures without prior consultation, formal notice, or monetary compensation.
The residents highlight several core claims regarding their historical ties to the disputed area:
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Ancestral Presence: Families have built homes, farms, mosques, shrines, and burial sites on the land.
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Customary Rights: The plaintiffs argue that their long-standing occupation grants them valid, compensable land interests under Article 40(4) of the Kenyan Constitution and the Land Act, even without formal title deeds.
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Exclusion from Compensation: The residents allege that a recent compulsory acquisition process initiated around September 20 favors absentee titleholders who acquired titles fraudulently while sidelining actual land occupants.
“Continued construction or excavation will cause further destruction of crops, trees, structures, and other property and will materially alter the physical character of the land, thereby making the dispute substantially more difficult to resolve,” the plaintiffs state in court documents.
Key Entities Named in the Suit
The lawsuit targets a broad spectrum of executive offices, security organs, regulatory bodies, and corporate entities responsible for the regional development corridor:
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Executive & Ministry Offices: Office of the President, Cabinet Secretary for Defence, Attorney General, and State Department for Lands and Physical Planning.
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Land & Regional Agencies: National Land Commission (NLC), Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport (LAPSSET) Corridor Development Authority, and the Lamu County Government.
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Private Entities & Security Environs: Dangote Industries, alongside designated private contractors and infrastructure projects servicing Manda Bay, US Camp Simba, and Magogoni Airfield.
Environmental and Procedural Concerns
In addition to property rights, the plaintiffs cite major constitutional and statutory violations. They allege that the defendants failed to conduct proper environmental impact assessments required under the Environmental Management and Co-ordination Act (EMCA).
The petition also claims breaches of:
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Article 35: Right of Access to Information.
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Article 40: Protection of Right to Property.
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Article 47: Right to Fair Administrative Action.
The plaintiffs stress that certain losses, including ancestral graves, historical homesteads, and long-standing community gathering sites, cannot be remedied through financial settlements. They are petitioning the court for an immediate injunction to stop all excavation and construction activities until the constitutional land acquisition procedures and public participation mandates are fully met.
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