Lands Cabinet Secretary Alice Wahome addressing media on October 5, 2026/ SCREENGABLands Cabinet Secretary Alice Wahome has defended the government’s ownership of land earmarked for the Sh2 trillion Dangote East Africa Refinery in Lamu, saying the largest portion of the project site is public land.
Wahome claimed some people taking the government to court over the land of being planted by "enemies of development", while insisting that genuine squatters and landowners with legitimate claims will be identified and addressed.
She said some people had lived on specific parcels for decades, with some inheriting their occupation from their grandparents and great-grandparents.
"There are ways that we are able also to identify those who are genuine. Sometimes they could be on a specific land for more than 30, 50, 60 years. Some, their grandparents or great-grandparents, are there," Wahome said.
"Those are the cases that we are dealing with."
The CS was speaking to journalists as the government moved to advance the refinery project, which was officially launched by President William Ruto last week.
Wahome said the government would support the project while dealing with individual cases that are found to be genuine.
She said the refinery was a multi-agency project involving several government departments, including lands, transport, defence and interior.
"Overall, the whole situation, we are supporting the project, and we will deal with any case which is genuine," she said.
"I don't think there should be anything that should stop Kenya from supporting, ensuring that this exercise, this refinery, is actually fully settled and takes off."
She said public participation and other issues arising during implementation would also be addressed.
Wahome's position echoes remarks made by Ruto days earlier when he said no residents would be removed from the main refinery site because the land belongs to the government.
"Lamu refinery, there are no wananchi that we are going to remove from that place. The land that is there is government land," Ruto said at State House Mombasa on October 1.
The President said the government had secured about 10,000 acres and was seeking an additional 3,000 acres for the refinery and a planned special economic zone.
Ruto also said the government had secured the land necessary for the project and was working to remove administrative hurdles that could delay its implementation.
The refinery, being developed by Nigerian businessman Aliko Dangote, is projected to have a capacity of 700,000 barrels of crude oil per day.
The government's position has, however, been challenged in court by residents who say they have occupied and used parts of the project area for generations.
On September 28, Chandavai residents moved to the Malindi Environment and Land Court seeking to stop further development of the refinery on LR No. 13061 in the Hindi/Manda Magogoni area.
The residents say their families have farmed and grazed livestock on the land for decades and have built homes, mosques and shrines there. They also say some of their relatives are buried on the property.
They argue that the government took over ancestral land without proper compensation or resettlement and have asked the court to recognise genuine occupants as people with compensable interests.
The court did not stop the refinery's groundbreaking but ordered the parties to maintain the status quo on the disputed parcel until October 14, when the application is scheduled to be heard.
Wahome said people with genuine claims can approach the Office of the President, the National Land Commission or the Ministry of Lands for assistance.
"I can assure you that any other genuine squatter or owner of land can approach the Office of the President, can approach NLC, can approach the ministry, and we know the genuine ones. We already have data," she said.
She also said some of the claims before the courts could be addressed through the relevant government offices.
However, she claimed some opponents of the project of deliberately creating obstacles.
"Some of them have been planted by the opponents and the enemies of development," Wahome said.
