President William Ruto with other African leaders in Lamu/PCS
President William Ruto is hosting a high-powered gathering of African leaders in Lamu today as Kenya formally breaks ground for the Sh2 trillion Dangote East Africa Refinery.
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, Togo President Jean-Luc Savi de Tové and Benin President Romuald Wadagni are among the leaders attending the ceremony.
The high-profile guest list comes as the refinery is being positioned as a regional facility that will supply petroleum products to markets across East and Central Africa.
It is being presented as a regional energy and industrialisation venture, with its proposed markets including Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Notably absent from the list, however, is Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu, despite Tanzania having featured prominently in earlier discussions on the proposed regional refinery.
The issue of Tanzania's involvement came into focus in May when Ruto travelled to Dar es Salaam and publicly addressed the proposal to locate a refinery at Tanga.
During a joint engagement, Suluhu said she had questioned Ruto over his announcement that a refinery would be built in Tanga without her knowledge.
“When we were having a conversation, I asked Ruto why he announced a refinery in Tanga without my knowledge; he will say why he announced it,” Suluhu said at the time.
Ruto subsequently explained that Tanga had emerged in discussions over how the region could develop its oil resources and industrial capacity.
He said the location had logistical advantages because of its proximity to Mombasa and the planned regional crude oil infrastructure.
However, Dangote later said a feasibility study had identified Lamu as the most suitable location for his refinery, ruling out Mombasa and Tanga.
“President William Ruto had said we are going to put this refinery in Tanga. He was not even looking out for his own country; he was looking out for the region,” Dangote said. He added that the study found Lamu to be the preferred site.
The Lamu project is expected to have a processing capacity of 700,000 barrels of crude oil per day, making it one of the largest proposed industrial investments in Kenya.
It is designed to process crude from Kenya and other African producers and supply refined petroleum products to regional markets.
Ruto has linked the project to fuel security, industrialisation and job creation, with government projections putting employment opportunities at about 60,000.
Dangote has also described the refinery as a gateway to further investment in Kenya, arguing that the presence of large-scale energy infrastructure would attract other investors.
Preparations for the project have already moved to Lamu, where the Port of Lamu received the MV Da Yang carrying about 2,930 metric tonnes of heavy construction equipment on September 26.
The refinery will also be expected to serve markets including Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The gathering of leaders from across the region and beyond therefore gives the groundbreaking a wider diplomatic and economic dimension, with the project being presented as an investment intended to strengthen Africa's energy and industrial capacity.
The ceremony will be presided over by Ruto alongside Dangote as construction of the refinery formally gets underway.
