Some of the residents protest outside the Malindi Law Courts on September 28, 2026./CHARLES MGHENYI
A planned groundbreaking ceremony for billionaire Aliko Dangote’s Sh2 trillion oil refinery in Lamu on Wednesday faces uncertainty after 133 Chandavai residents filed a suit seeking to halt the project.
The residents, led by Suleiman Ali, Kanywa Kamunde and Zubera Hassan, moved to the Malindi Law Courts on Monday, arguing that the government unlawfully took over ancestral land they have occupied for generations without compensation or resettlement.
In their notice of motion, the plaintiffs insist they are not opposed to development but want their land rights recognised before the refinery proceeds.
Some of the residents protest outside the Malindi Law Courts on September 28, 2026./CHARLES MGHENYI
They have sued the Office of the President, the Defence CS, the Lands Principal Secretary, the Attorney General, the National Land Commission, the LAPSSET Corridor Development Authority, the Lamu County Government, Dangote Industries Limited and two contractor firms.
The land in question is LR No. 13061 in Chandavai, which the families say they have farmed, grazed livestock on, and built homes, mosques and shrines on for decades.
Some of their relatives are buried there, they claimed.
The petitioners want the court to issue conservatory orders stopping any further construction, excavation or ground-clearing, warning that continued works will destroy crops, homes and cultural sites and permanently alter the land.
They told the court that on August 7, 2024, government officers and LAPSSET agents stormed the land with bulldozers, flattening crops and trees without notice or valuation.
Residents were later told the land had been set aside for LAPSSET and Ministry of Defence projects around Manda Bay, including roads serving the Kenya Navy Base, US Camp Simba and Magogoni Airfield.
According to the filings, soil testing for the refinery started in July 2026.
On September 10, police and chiefs allegedly cleared one parcel ahead of the planned presidential launch.
The residents further claim they learned on September 20 that a compulsory acquisition process had quietly begun but targeted absentee title holders rather than the actual occupants.
They argue the process flouted the Land Act and Articles 35, 40 and 47 of the Constitution, citing a lack of notices, valuation, public participation and prior compensation.
They also fault the State for ignoring environmental assessment requirements.
The families are asking the court to compel the State to identify all genuine occupants as persons with compensable interests, conduct proper valuation, and pay compensation before possession.
