President William Ruto alleged on Thursday, October 1, that Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna had been urged by his “sponsor” to seek the contract agreement for the Dangote Lamu Refinery.
Ruto claimed Sifuna’s backers had a sinister motive in requesting access to the agreement between the government and the Dangote Group that enabled the establishment of the Ksh2.2 trillion refinery.
“I heard Mr Empty, one of ‘Shiny things’, asking about the agreements between the government and the Dangote Group on the Lamu Refinery. I looked at him and realized that first, he has been sent by the sponsor,” Ruto said. He added that the request aimed to open a route to extort investor Aliko Dangote in the same way they tried when Dangote sought to set up a cement factory in Kenya.
Ruto also told Sifuna that proper channels exist for requesting such documents through Parliament, arguing that the intention behind the demand was to pressure Dangote.
“I want to tell you, the conmanship you did that made Dangote abandon his quest to set up a cement factory in Kenya, you will not do it with this refinery. I am watching you keenly, and you will not extort anybody anymore; I will not allow you,” the president warned.
Ruto’s remarks came a day after Sifuna raised questions in the Senate about why the refinery project’s contract agreements had not been made available for public scrutiny.
Sifuna argued that because the Lamu Refinery is a major initiative expected to benefit Kenyans, the public should understand what commitments Kenya had made in order for the project to proceed.
“None of us knows the commitments that this country has given for that refinery to be built. It is incumbent upon the government to let us see these documents,” he said.
Sifuna also criticised Dangote for vowing to deal with “trouble makers” who moved to court and sought orders to halt the project pending the resolution of certain issues. He urged Dangote to consider the concerns raised by Kenyans and pursue a more amicable way of addressing them rather than reacting with bravado.
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